[IRISHMAFIA]

....here it is.

However, to make it somewhat meaningful, let's talk about game officials.

Much of the problem is that too many non-officials in any game consider the umpire, referee, judge, etc. a commodity. Many organizations just schedule tournaments with little to no consideration of from where the game officials will come. These folks act like they can stop by the "Game Official" section of the supermarket on the way to the fields and pick-up as many officials as they need for that day's games.

Anyone who belongs to a small association knows that this just isn't the case. The train of thought needs to be changed. Game officials need to be considered a limited resource. We constantly see tournaments or leagues that are just happy to have someone act as an official...that is until it affects their game. Then these folks want to know where all the GOOD officials are hiding.

The time is coming when there will not be enough to satisfy the massive number of tournaments in a certain area and it will cause an epiphany, of sorts, among the sports community, including softball. As it is, dissatisfied teams just move to another sanctioning body's tournament. The only problem is that you can have a new sanctioning body come into existence every three months, and there will still only be so many individuals who are willing to become game officials.

So, it comes down to multiplying the number of tournaments, number of fields, number of games, but there will still only be a certain number of game officials. It is a never ending cycle and the unwillingness of the teams to understand the situation and attempt to work within certain parameters does nothing more than cause consternation among those involved. In turn, some frustration is directed at those of authority which includes the game officials.

This lack of consideration and, in turn, respect of the game officials only leads to the depletion of the ranks of officials. As a note, ASA lost less than a thousand umpires in registration this year and that was considered a good thing. In the 18 years I have been involved with ASA, the number of registered umpires has dropped by approximately 18,000 members.

The demand is much greater than the supply and I don't think it is going to get any better until we get the leagues, players, coaches and parents to understand that game officials do not grow on trees or occupy a shelf at the local supermarket. And the only people who are going to do that are you and me. WE need to make the consumer understand the situation and provide a hand in the repopulation of the ranks of officiating across the country.

Thanks,