[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by brandda



I don't disagree with your points from an intention perspective, but reality where we are is a little different. I agree that LL intends to use full volunteers for all positions, but in our league, we have had such a problem getting umpires for all of our games that we have had to consider bringing in paid umpires. Every time we look at it, the single reason why we don't do it is because it is cost prohibitive. Unlike a lot of leagues, we have to rent our facilities at a cost of 10K/year and throwing another 10K/year on top of that to pay for umpires is more than our budget can stand.

So while I agree that the intention is for volunteers, the reality of why we do not use paid umpires is because we cannot afford it without significantly increasing the cost per child to play.

David IMO, the main problem is that LL does not Force individuals to volunteer. It seems as though the same few people do all of the work. I am a single parent raising 4 children and I found the time to donate my time umpiring (that's how I got started in umpiring to begin with), plus be TD, mow the grass, fix the fields, work in the concession stand etc.

People can find the time, but they choose not to, therefore, I have no problem with leagues raising the Registrition FEES to pay for umpires. If a parent can't afford it that's fine as long as they donate their time elsewhere in helping out the league

Each Parent should be required to umpire at least one game a week. In the scheme of things that's not asking too much. This would also cut down on fan problems as these same Fans (Parents) would see first hand what it is like to umpire a game and have more of an appreciation for what we do.

You can't simply drop of your son / daughter and expect other people to pick up the slack for you.

Pete Booth