[charliej47]

When I first got into umpiring it was 15 and because I found out you could be paid to do something that was fun.

I have officiated Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Basketball, Football and Volleyball.

Over the years I officiated for a lot of reasons. When I was in the Army in Texas I was asked to umpire at a summer tournament that got me started doing high school and college ball and later some minor league. I found out that because I wore glasses I would never go anywhere in the PROs so I never tried very hard.

When I got out of the Service and started raising a family, officiating was a way to have fun and to earn “fun” money.

I always gave half of the money to my wife to spend any way she wanted but it could never be for living expenses and the half I kept I always spent to pay for equipment and officiating expenses such as fuel and food. If there was any left over, I would treat my family to an evening out.

I never asked my wife what she did with the half I gave her because I figured I was “fun” money and she should do as she pleased. I never earned a lot of money and there were times when I would work for the price of a hotdog and drink from the concession stand.

There were times when I would watch my kids play in a tournament and then officiate the next game. Often I would spend more at these tournaments then I would be paid. As my kids played all over the eastern US, I always took my gear and usually officiated in the next age group.

I have been fortunate in that I have been able to do this for more than forty years.

I have been on different boards and had discussions with officials at all levels as to why we do what we do. We all seem to have different answers that are unique to ourselves.