Quote:
Originally posted by whiskers_ump
Mike,
they have tournaments nearly every weekend around here. If not
in Beaumont, then Houston, College Station, Surlfur, La.,
somewhere.
Honestly, we were short because some really wanted to watch the
playoffs. Others just not around and we have a lot of shift
workers in our chapter.
glen
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Glen,
That's my point. Umpires have lives outside of softball, but too many organizations don't understand that. My local association has been threatened with litigation a number of times because we couldn't supply a particular organization with umpires for tournaments on bad weekends. Too many folks think that if they schedule games, umpires will just appear.
My comments were not directed at umpires, but at softball organizations in general. To me, the climate is irrelevant. I've got too many other things in my life to worry about softball (which has now become a year-round job for me) all the time. Other than taking care of our dogs, house and cars, my wife and I both enjoy following college (UD) & professional football, college basketball, pro indoor lacrosse, we also love to snow ski, catch a blues festival here or there and to top that all off, my 86 year old mother in law lives with us. And, oh yeah, we both have full time jobs which makes everything else possible.
Personally, I think it long seasons are detrimental to the kids. I've seen many posts telling me about how this daughter is also a volleyball player or a cheerleader, but at the same time, the same people crucify any player who may skip a softball practice or tournament for an outside activity. I wonder how all these parents feel when they find out that there are more players than scholarships?
Sorry, but I believe softball is a spring/summer sport and should remain such.
JMHO,