The View from the Dugout - Know What You Face

[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rich Ives
[B]A noble man in blue recently asked on another board “What kind of coach would pay $50 to post to an umpire board?” It seemed to me that it was asked derisively. “Typical umpire,” says me to myself. My answer – “A Smart One!”

By now we realize that there is a LOT more we need to know about the rules and what to expect from the umpire’s calls.

Hey, we’re here to play the game. We don’t need no stinking arguments. We prepare the players, we need to prepare ourselves too. This place is a great place to learn.

Rich to me it's really amazing the animosity that exists between Coaches / Umpires. When a coach asks a question, the umpires think that the coach is asking so that he can "Cheat" (ala CoachB on the latest eTeamz thread), Hence they hardly if ever will post on the umpires board again. The Coaches feel that umpires are not "Human" but void of emotion and do not want to hear them at all.

More meetings between coaches and umpires need to be held so that the coach is EDUCATED on the rules and both parties can work for the betterment of the program.

Most of us have wore 2 hats (coaching and umpiring) and you think we would give more "slack" to a coach, but in a way we are harsher.

From a coaches point of view it does help to know what umpires will ALWAYS call from that which is suspect. This makes for a more consistent game. In basketball, players are taught - never reach around a player and go for a steal Why? - Because they will ALWAYS get called for a reach in foul irregardless if they made contact or not - That is a given and aids the baskeball coach in teaching his players how to play proper defense.

If coaches and umpires would work together instead of separate IMO, we would have a better game.


Pete Booth