help with new league

[PeteBooth]

[QUOTE=tidefanintenn]Hey guys this is my first post eventhough I follow all of the other things on here. I umpire Dixie youth and Dixie Boys (9-10;11-12 & 13-14). I have been asked to take over as UIC over a league in a nearby town. The President wants me to clean up his league with the way the coaches act on the field.

Before you take on the role of UIC, IMO, you should find out right up front what kind of backing you will receive from the President and BOD of this league because when you are asked to "clean things up" you have to be a hard a$$ especially in year one.

I would start with a zero tolerance policy. Get rid of all the loud mouths and make sure the penalties for the kind of behavior you are referring to is dealt with in a harsh manner.

Once you get rid of the loud mouths (both coaches and fans) you will be surprised at the out come. You will start to attract more of the good coaches. Once your league gets a good reputation you will not have a problem in finding an assignor who will service you. In addition I would pay market rates for umpires to insure that you get some quality.

In addition, have a talk with the individual who assigns umpires in your area. Tell him you want to clean things up so that he sends some good umpires who know how to control a game.

Bottom Line if you do not have the backing of the President and BOD and they are unwilling to hand down stiff penalties to get rid of the trouble makers I would not take the job.

Pete Booth

[tidefanintenn]

Pete

Thanks for the info. I met extensively with the President and the district supervisor over this league before taking the job. I have dealt with both individuals in other youth sports such as football. I feel very confident that I will have their full support. They are even asking about some leagues rules that might help discourage some of these antics. Suspensions for certain behaviors. I know that the first year I will not be the best liked person on the diamond, but after a season of them seeing my consistent enforcement I feel they will be glad I am there. The leagues problem lies within three coaches and their staffs. The other coaches are decent people that approach the game for the right reasons. The kids.

[UmpJM]

tidefanintenn,

I would say that Pete Booth has given you the best advice on your question, and I'm glad to hear that it sounds like the BOD members you mentioned are planning to give you their full support. The only thing that bothers me is that in your intial post you said:

Originally Posted by tidefanintenn

...The President wants me to clean up his league with the way the coaches act on the field. ...

This bothers me because it is NOT the umpires' responsibility to "clean up the league" - it's the President's (and other BOD members') responsibility. Now, if he's enlisting your support in doing so, that sounds fine to me. If he's trying to dump his responsibility on you, personally I'd find another league to work.

The travel league I am currently coaching in has the following policy regarding coaches' behavior:

A. SPORTSMANSHIP
1. Managing and coaching in the NSBL is a privilege and not a right. We will monitor the conduct of both manager and coaches throughout the season and reserve the right to remove, suspend or discipline a coach or manager for failure to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. If any community has a coach on suspension or probation, they should notify the league.
2. Any manager or coach ejected from a game is automatically suspended from his team’s next NSBL game. A second ejection will automatically cause the immediate suspension of the offending manager or coach from all remaining NSBL games. The NSBL may suspend a manager or coach from any or all NSBL games or unsportsmanlike conduct at its discretion. There is no appeal from this rule.

On the very rare occasions that a coach acts like a jerk during a game, the league BOD enforces the policy strictly - as stated. As a result, we tend not to have problems with coach behavior. But the burden is really on the BOD, not the umpires.

JM

[tidefanintenn]

Thanks coach. I might not have stated my intitial post as clearly as I should have. The league Pres. is cleaning up the league he is wanting me to be there to help insure that the umpiring side is fair, consistent, and correct. I like the way your league put it. "It is a privilege not a right to coach."

Another question for you coach. Most of the coaches and leagues respect me as an umpire as I get selected for as many of the tourneys as I can possibly schedule. In dealing with these few bad coaches how quick do you think my trigger should be for the first few games. I know coaches like to "discuss" certain situations and all, but I think they should approach it in the proper ways like asking for time and then discussing the rule interp because judgements are that and are not discussed any further than explaining what was seen.

[UmpJM]

Originally Posted by tidefanintenn

Thanks coach. I might not have stated my intitial post as clearly as I should have. The league Pres. is cleaning up the league he is wanting me to be there to help insure that the umpiring side is fair, consistent, and correct. I like the way your league put it. "It is a privilege not a right to coach."

Another question for you coach. Most of the coaches and leagues respect me as an umpire as I get selected for as many of the tourneys as I can possibly schedule. In dealing with these few bad coaches how quick do you think my trigger should be for the first few games. I know coaches like to "discuss" certain situations and all, but I think they should approach it in the proper ways like asking for time and then discussing the rule interp because judgements are that and are not discussed any further than explaining what was seen.

Tidefan,

Sounds like your league president understands his and your respective roles in cleaning up the league. That's good.

As to your second question, I'm probably one of the least qualified people who posts here to answer it. I've never umpired a real baseball game in my life, so I've never ejected anyone. In twelve years of coaching, I've never been ejected.

If you are a subscriber to the paid part of this website, I would encourage you to read the following articles written by some of the distinguished umpires who publish there that address the question you raise:

Carl Childress

Why and How to Avoid Ejections (3 Part Series)
How to Talk to a Coach

Tim Christensen

Rats, cheese, and a glass of whine
The art of ejection

Rich Fronheiser

Game Management (2 Part Series)

Bob Jenkins

Traffic Stops, Misdemeanors, and Felonies (focus on Fed, but generally applicable)

Peter Osborne

Creative Ejections (11 Part Series)

I'm sure there are others as well.

If you do not subscribe to the paid part of the site, just use the forum "search" function with 'ejection' as the search argument.

In general, I believe that the best umpires tend to have the fewest ejections. This is because they:

1. Tend to make the correct call and are in position to do so.

2. Have excellent game management skills that tend to defuse "situations" that could lead to an ejection if handled poorly.

3. Have absolutely NO hesitation in ejecting someone when his behavior is deserving of an ejection (their reputation precedes them).

In the case of this league, one or two early-season ejections of the primary miscreants might be appropriate just to "set the tone" for the remainder of the season. If you and the league president believe that is the case, you simply MUST read Peter Osborne's series on how to go about doing it.

JM

[Rich]

Originally Posted by CoachJM

Tidefan,

Sounds like your league president understands his and your respective roles in cleaning up the league. That's good.

As to your second question, I'm probably one of the least qualified people who posts here to answer it. I've never umpired a real baseball game in my life, so I've never ejected anyone. In twelve years of coaching, I've never been ejected.

If you are a subscriber to the paid part of this website, I would encourage you to read the following articles written by some of the distinguished umpires who publish there that address the question you raise:

Carl Childress

Why and How to Avoid Ejections (3 Part Series)
How to Talk to a Coach

Tim Christensen

Rats, cheese, and a glass of whine
The art of ejection

Rich Fronheiser

Game Management (2 Part Series)

Bob Jenkins

Traffic Stops, Misdemeanors, and Felonies (focus on Fed, but generally applicable)

Peter Osborne

Creative Ejections (11 Part Series)

I'm sure there are others as well.

If you do not subscribe to the paid part of the site, just use the forum "search" function with 'ejection' as the search argument.

In general, I believe that the best umpires tend to have the fewest ejections. This is because they:

1. Tend to make the correct call and are in position to do so.

2. Have excellent game management skills that tend to defuse "situations" that could lead to an ejection if handled poorly.

3. Have absolutely NO hesitation in ejecting someone when his behavior is deserving of an ejection (their reputation precedes them).

In the case of this league, one or two early-season ejections of the primary miscreants might be appropriate just to "set the tone" for the remainder of the season. If you and the league president believe that is the case, you simply MUST read Peter Osborne's series on how to go about doing it.

JM

Thanks for the plug. I went back and read my articles again. Not bad for an amateur. I may have to find a website I can write for again at some point.

This season I already have eight ejections after having only 2 the entire year of 2005. Two in high school (first base coach and player in playoff game as they were being killed), 3 in college (two were for intentionally throwing at a hitter after being warned), 3 in summer ball. My standards don't change -- the players and the coaches and their behaviors are the variables.

[tidefanintenn]

Rich, I liked your article too. I was given it by another umpire that had got a copy from somewhere. I usually do not have any issues with ejecting if it is warranted. I am not known for throwing guys out, but Iam known as a strict rules enforcer so sometimes my ejections get to be a lot higher than this year's total of 0. Everybody behaved I could not believe it.