help with new league

[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. His umpires have also been below par the last few years and would not enforce many of the rules. Mostly because they did not know them. I would like some suggestions on how to handle these coaches next year. I am known well in this area as an umpire that knows the Dixie Youth Rule book and have no problems enforcing them. I do not want to seem like a hard a$$ when I step on the field next year, but due to the lax rules enforcement I know I will be a little because I do enforce. Any help from you guys.

[TussAgee11]

Originally Posted by 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. His umpires have also been below par the last few years and would not enforce many of the rules. Mostly because they did not know them. I would like soe suggestions on how to handle these coaches next year. I am known well in this area as an umpire that knows the Dixie Youth Rule book and have no problems enforcing them. I do not want to seem like a hard a$$ when I step on the field next year, but due to the lax rules enforcement I know I will be a little because I do enforce. Any help from you guys.

Are there any other associations in your area that you could get umpires from? Start with the high school board, typically these guys will know another assignor in the area that does things similar to your 13-14s. You can get a list of guys from him.

Is Dixie the only thing in your area? You may find it good to find a local LL or Cal Ripken organization (if they pay umps) to find out who they use.

[tidefanintenn]

Dixie is the only youth baseball in our area. The leagues pay the umpires around $25-30 a game. Their are plenty of good umpires this league just never used them. They always tried to use kids from the local high school. This year tey had two incidences where coaches almost fought on the field becuase the kid umps did not know how to settle the sitch. I have started putting together a group of umpires that are well qualified and knowledgeable about baseball so nextyear the quality of umpires will be as good as could be expected. HOw can we rein in these coaches that have pushed kids into reversing calls and changing their minds because someone's dad got mad?

I know how I can handle it but do not want to be complete hard a$$.
Thanks Tuss for the info. I have got some of the local High school umps coming in as well.

[TussAgee11]

Start with making an apperance at the pre-season coach's meeting. Introduce yourself, talk about what will be different this year.

Obviously, get rid of the kid umps... I was once one, and owe that league credit and thanks for the opportunity, but now during regular season, occassionally there is a kid ump and its just not even worth it.

Tell the coaches that this year, adult certified umpires will do the games. Tell them that these are the guys who do the AAU, the Legion, (whatever you have in your area). Rules and ejections will be enforced, reported and dealt with by the league.

Go over some POE's that you want to try to get out of this league that the coach's do. Go over the things in the Dixie rulebook that normally give the most confusion (make sure your umpires are told about these things as well).

Monitor the league closely and make it known you will be an active and proactive UIC. Be at the field some if you can, to observe. Before long, the coaches will get to know you, and will be glad with the pro job you are doing for them.

[TussAgee11]

This is what I would want you to do in order to clean up this league if I was a coach, league prez, or umpire working for you anyway.

[tidefanintenn]

Thanks, Tuss. I had a few of those ideas. I will be an active UIC due to me loving to being involved. I will set up a coaches meeting with all of the umpires befor enext season. Do you think we can still help bring along a big kid ump in order to help keep good ones coming into the leagues later. I was thinking maybe we could use them for some of the coach pitch games and help them learn game management before putting them on the fiel calling older kids. Thanks for the Information you shared. From reading alot of your posts I think we react to situations in the same manner alot.

[TussAgee11]

I mean, I was a kid ump - but I was good

Some LL's in the area will pay a kid 15 or 20 bucks to go do the bases. I thought it was good for the league if the Plate Ump didn't just ignore the kid all game but would work with him, talk in between innings, etc. I doubt they will learn much unless they get that experience. Doing coach-pitched doesn't provide game management skills, and thats the last thing that an umpire should learn anyway. If developing umpires is important to you or the league, then you should meet with them preseason as well to talk about curling in, being in the saddle, confidence, timing.

Then have a mid way through the season meeting as well with them. I was talking with a fellow umpire who is in a similar position to you, and he meets with the kid umps twice a season, just to reinforce these things (teenagers are forgetful )

[bigwes68]

Originally Posted by tidefanintenn

Dixie is the only youth baseball in our area. The leagues pay the umpires around $25-30 a game. Their are plenty of good umpires this league just never used them. They always tried to use kids from the local high school. This year tey had two incidences where coaches almost fought on the field becuase the kid umps did not know how to settle the sitch. I have started putting together a group of umpires that are well qualified and knowledgeable about baseball so nextyear the quality of umpires will be as good as could be expected. HOw can we rein in these coaches that have pushed kids into reversing calls and changing their minds because someone's dad got mad?

I know how I can handle it but do not want to be complete hard a$$.
Thanks Tuss for the info. I have got some of the local High school umps coming in as well.

Dixie isn't the only youth baseball in West Tennessee. In fact, I'd say close to half the leagues are playing Cal Ripken now. I know Dyersburg, Jackson and a few places south of Jackson still play Dixie, but most everything north of Jackson is Cal Ripken now (Martin, Milan, Newbern, Lake County, Greenfield, etc.). I like the Ripken rules better (closer to OBR) but Dixie seems to be a lot more organized.

[Blue37]

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[tidefanintenn]

bigwes,

Yes there are alot of places that play different leagues, but the closest one to me is over and hour away. Dixie will remain in our area for the next several years. I have no problem with Dixie, but I do have some issues with cooaches in this league. I was just looking for suggestions in how soe of the older guys have handled these situations in the past. I have been umpiring for 6-7 years and love being involved with youth sports. My career keeps me from doing much higher level stuff as I put in alot of hours. Thanks for the help. I also agree with you the Dixie org seems to be better organized but I they get carried away with some of their rule interps as a group. I grew up playing BabeRuth, but that was a long itme ago now.

[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