[Tru_in_Blu]

I think the college/university argument doesn't hold true in many cases. It may depend upon who's paying the tuition.

In many cases, a student's parents foot the bill and/or are augmented by student loans.

In some cases, a student may have received an outside scholarship, usually a fixed amount and small percentage of the overall cost, which carries no reciprocity stipulations.

Some students are fortunate to receive academic/scholastic or sports scholarships which may cover either a small or large percentage of the bill.

Then there are many programs into which a student may enroll which will require some amount of "payback" on behalf of the student. The military colleges and ROTC programs are the most common.

Then there may be incentives from specific companies which may agree to send someone for a higher degree in return for a promise of "x" years of staying on with that particular firm.

My masters degree was largely paid for by the company I was employed by at the time. They covered tuition and a portion of the expenses for books. I needed to get myself to the classes and receive a pre-determined grade for the course(s). There were no strings in this arrangement and I could leave to seek employment elsewhere at any time.

Some auto dealerships offer [maybe not any more?] 3-5 year extended training and education for mechanics to become certified in various aspects of auto repair and maintenance in return for the employee's promise to stay there for some amount of time after training.

Now, all that being said, I don't believe there is a requirement relative to ASA training that someone, anyone, can't use whatever they learn at any ASA clinics to work other associations. I do understand the loyalty aspect of "dance with who brung ya", but I still maintain, without having statistical evidence, that all the alphabet softball associations are probably 80% the same and 20% different. Maybe it's even closer to 90-10, I don't know.

In my 30 years as a player, I've only ever played ASA ball. That started in the Air Force and continued in various leagues I played in after I got out. The couple of UICs who recruited me to become an umpire were both ASA guys. In fact, until I became an ASA umpire, I was naively unaware that there even were other associations. I'd never heard of USSSA, NSA, etc. I'd heard of Little League and Babe Ruth, but only as related to my son's playing baseball, not as softball associations.

So I'm certified as ASA, and this year became certified w/ NFHS. The reason I did so was based on some suggestions from umpire associates and the fact that I was available to do some high school games. And I learned that NFHS was probably on the order of 95% the same as ASA, again not via hard statistical analysis, just by printing out the differences from ASA, NFHS, and NCAA from the ASA website.

At this point, I get enough games with the two associations I'm certified in with no need or desire to expand into other groups. My memory stick is full enough, and I'm not likely to expand on that capacity.

I guess I'm loyal as a result. But I can see why others might go in other directions. I leave that decision to them, and I don't hold anything against them because they may have learned their craft from ASA and use it elsewhere.

Most of the clinics I've attended, both NFHS and ASA have been "free", although there are annual dues to both. I did attend 1 NUS when they were in my local area. I would LOVE to attend the FP school, but I simply am not in a position to afford that expense.

Learn a craft, pay your dues, remain as loyal as you can, enjoy your work/craft/trade, move forward when you can.