Quote:
Originally posted by FUBLUE
But what really gets me, and this is my soapbox, is in this state coaches vote for umpires who do the state championship tournament (NFHS). So, if I have partners that screw up all the time, it will eventually trickle down to making me look bad (i.e. coach loses game on a call like this one, but thinks that call cost them the game, so he votes me and partner as bad umpires).
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I don't know if I necessarily agree with this statement. I think that most coaches at the HS level are capable of judging each umpire on his own merit. I have spent this season working with many umpires who are not quite up to snuff. I have spent a lot of time on the field trying to help them kick their game up to that next level. Sometimes I have succeeded, and sometimes I haven't. However, I have still been requested by several teams to work their playoff games. That's because an umpire who hustles, has good mechanics, is professional, and displays rules knowledge on the field is always appreciated, even when working with the worst slug. Heck, maybe more so then.
I am not a fan of the coaches voting for umpires for playoffs, either. However, I still think that just because you work with someone who is a poor official, as long as you do what you know you are supposed to, the coaches who do the voting will notice.