[Andy]

May as well add my story.....

For the last two years, my daughter has played in a rec league sponsored and run by our church. I have called a few games in the league in that time frame and most of the coaches know who I am. The level of play is not very good, but the kids have fun and the coaches are generally well-behaved.

The league director, who is a well respected soccer official, and I have known each other for many years. I have even offered to provide trained umpires for him and train others to umpire, but he would rather do it himself. The result is that he has a "pool" of about 5-6 guys that he uses as umpires.

Most of these guys don't have a clue and look about like some of the umpires that have been described above. PU with backwards hat under the mask, one guy did buy a powder blue umpire shirt, but wears it with his jeans shorts. The shinguards are on the legs and he will occasionally wear the chest protector outside of the shirt. I have introduced myself to him and gently offered some rules help based on some of the interpretations and calls he has made during the games. I won't yell from the stands, but I will approach after the game and talk to him. There was one game last year where he called me over to the fence during a game and asked me about a ruling. He had ruled correctly, but I don't think he knew why!

I asked him a few times about joining either our HS or ASA organization and getting some formal training as he seems to enjoy umpiring and is receptive to my conversations. He has basically told me that he just wants to do this church league and feels he is doing fine.

(rant on)

Watching some of these games and seeing these types of umpires out there just irritates the h*ll out of me! I work hard and put in a great deal of time studying the rules, attending clinics, making sure my uniform looks good, and trying to be a better umpire. When the majority of people see these guys on the field, it's no wonder that the opinion of umpires is so low. Unfortunately, with all of the rec leagues, church leagues, etc., out there, there are far more of the "backward hat and work boots" umpires than those of us that take it seriously and strive to be the best at what we do!

(rant off)