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[QUOTE]Originally posted by rjhouchin
Your response is typical of the arrogance I have experienced from officials for 50 years, namely the outright refusal to admit that, like the rest of us mortals, they too make errors.
That's funny, Robert, apparently you missed the line in my post where I admitted to occaisionally booting a call, and I also stated that I know of no official who would say that he or she never blows a call once in a while. But of course, you were so eager to slam me for responding to you, and to call me "arrogant," that I can understand how that may have slipped your all too observant eyes.
The quality of officiating his gone done,(sic) gnigicantly,(sic) over the last twenty years, at all levels, including at the professional level thereby severly diminishing the integrity of all sports. Your reactionary side is showing here Bob. Funny, with more and more clinics being given and attended, I strongly feel that the level of officiating in amatuer sports has greatly improved since the days that I was a player. Then, most officials at the rec league level were unskilled volunteers.
When I first became involved in sports, the first thing my father did was make me learn the rules before I could participate. Your father is to be commended.
I read the rule book several times a season and my copies are dog eared, highlighted, underlined and heavily used. Sounds like the rule books of most officials that you will meet on this board.
I have never hollered at an official publicly with the exception of one occassion. I, too, have coached as well as umpired for many years, and I have never yelled at any official. I have been as high as a National Tournament with my 16U team a few years back, (Dixie World Series, 1998) and never would have dreamed of yelling at, demeaning, or, for that matter, blaming the officials for any loss that my team may have suffered. My respect for the game is too great. (That is why I umpire!)
You make an extremely generous and self serving assumption that you only make one mistake a game. Do you know me? Have you ever seen me umpire a single game? Talk about making self-serving assumptions!!!
I wish that were true. It would be a significant improvement over what I have seen these last twenty years. What happened to 50? It has become so poor
Quite fixated on that aren't you Bob?! I am getting the picture here, the more you talk. You are one of those coaches who are unable to take responsibility for your team, and therefore look for the same scapegoat that all of those of your ilk go for, the official. Yeah, Bob, we are used to being "targets" for your pointed barbs. If you would quit looking to blame anyone, sit back, look and listen, you might actually learn a few things. Fifty years living in ignorance is still fifty years living in ignorance. You haven't gained anything, least of all the experience that you are implying that you have.
that I for one would rather pick a parent out of the stands from each team and use them. Then do so. IF, as you say, you have actually umpired, then you know exactly what you will get. Someone who has no concept of the rules or their application. This very comment leads me to seriously doubt that you have ever seen a day of training to be a sports official in any capacity.
The "trained" officials are of no value whatsoever. Again, you are showing your complete and utter lack of knowledge. NO VALUE?? So...you would be completely happy taking your travel team around and paying all those big bucks, and not have a single official on the field? How long would that be fun? Besides, who would you have to kick around without all of those incompetent umpires?
The average cost, per family, for a year of travel ball here in California is around $ 9,000.00 per player...blah, blah, blah Same all over the nation. Doesn't make you special. Many of us have schilled over these kinds of bucks year after year. I did it for many years, and would gladly do it again, not to win, but to give my daughter all of the wonderful experiences she had. There are many on this board who do the same with their children.
I actually had an official say to me, during one game, what the hell, they are only girls. I pulled my team off the field.
IF this is true, and as you can tell by now, I am having trouble believing a lot of what you are telling me, then you are to be commended for this. No official should ever treat his responsiblity so frivolously. Everyone on this board will agree with this, I am sure. That is why we come here, to improve our skills as officials.
I might add that, in all of youth sports, the only ones on the field who are being paid are the officials. Not always. I volunteer my time for charity benefits..etc every year.
When you take my money, you owe me a better job than we are getting.
Bob...if I ever take your money, I guaran-damn-tee you that I will do the absolute best job that I am physically capable of. I won't go in to bragging on what that has gotten me so far in the way of recognition, but it is the best that I can do. What more can you ask for? Blood from a turnip? Let's drop that 99% job performance rate down to 95 or even 90 (though umpires with a 90% job performance rate will not last long), that is still better than the job performance rate that you get in nearly every other sector of life, Bob. But yet you continue to persecute, and will continue to do so, until you feel that you have ground your axe sufficiently. Unfortunately for youth sports, your kind are way too prevalent. I also know that as far as you are concerned, my words are falling on deaf ears. So...at this point I will wish you the best in all of your endeavors, and merely agree to disagree with you.
Incidentally, if the officiating is so bad in California, come on out to Texas. There are many fine officials here, some of which I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to call with. In the Metroplex alone, there are scores of absolutely fantastic officials for the sport of softball alone. Do they blow a call once in a while. Absolutely. Does that make them imcompetent or self-serving? Far from it! I hope that someday you find happiness.
Scott
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