Quote:
Originally posted by Rog
Most high school officials are just that - high school officials, and not professional who work major league games.
More than likely most of these officials do it as a means of a "meager" secondary income.
One needs to be aware of the amount of mandatory training time required, length of travel time to and from game sites, game lengths, equipment costs, along with the all too common BS thrown at an officials, then balance all this against the financial returns.
When it is all said and done, you get what you pay for in most areas of life.
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Well, a mistake is a mistake, and it can be made by any umpire at any level. But I take exception to your accusation that most HS umpires are under-trained, over-worked, under-paid, and take the heat too much to give a damn. If that is your attitude, I would imagine your games do seem overly long (for your partner). Actually, if that is ANYBODY'S attitude, I wonder why he would be officiating at all?
True, there are some umpires just there to get the check. But, the majority of guys I work with in my area really enjoy their (secondary) job, take pride in their gear and appearance, seek continuing education and training, and earn some decent bucks umpiring HS games. Then, they go for more "abuse" in LL, BR, Legion, AAU, Stan Musial, etc. Until the real professional Major League Umpires take over amateur games, I guess the high schools will be stuck with us inferior HS umpires.