Looking Young
 

I had a feeling that I was being held back in my association from higher level games, because of my age and not looking very old. Now I realized that that is the truth. My assignor sent an email invitation to do university baseball to all the qualified umpires in my city. I emailed him asking him why I didn't get this email, and he told me that because I look 5 years younger than 19, it may set me up for a lot of trouble.

Personally I could give a rat's *** about age and appearnace. There are many 30+ year veterans in my league that I know I am head and shoulders above.

But I mean come on. Is "looking too young" all that the league has against me? How about some comments on mechanics, strikezone, uniform, positioning and rulebook knowledge. But no, they have to judge a book by its cover and no matter what my ratings might be in all of the important categories, I am a writeoff because I look young. Just a pathetic excuse if you ask me. Your thoughts?

He probably just used that "too young looking" BS to spare your feelings. There is probably a deeper reason, perhaps your "poor me, I'm a victim" attitude you display here on this forum. You probably talk behind other officials' backs, such as these 30 year veterans you are dissing. Things like this can make you unpopular in a hurry. You THINK you are head and shoulders above these men, but that is unlikely.

You are 19. You aren't nearly as good as you think you are. Sorry to break that to you. Talk to us when you get 10 solid years under your belt, and we will re-evaluate your skill level.

Appearance has a lot to do with how we are perceived. If you look like you can barely shave, that is going to indirectly affect how coaches rate you and if other umpires want to work with you. Having said all of that it could be a front for other problems. If you feel you are better than most umpires and you have told a lot of people that, the word might be getting around on you. Sometimes there is more to the picture than just on patch of paint. So you might want to consider other possibilities. Now if you are young you have a lot of time to get those big games. Not everyone gets a big game early. Usually you have to prove you are worthy and that is just simply doing well at the games you currently work. One thing a supervisor said to a group of officials this summer which had me thinking. "If you are not the top official at the current level you work, how are you going to move up to the next level?" Not to say that does not apply to you, but often younger officials do not evaluate themselves realistically. You might be better than some of the 30 year old guys, but it is not like those are the only umpires you are in competition against. Also everyone that is 30 might not look that young.

Peace

If you umpire like you post, "they" have many reasons for not inviting you to work a higher level.

If you are an excellent umpire, but put forth the perception in real life that you do here, "they" still have reasons for not inviting you to work a higher level.

If you are an excellent umpire, and for some reason only act like you do here, here, then your looks shouldn't hold you up.

My younger son also looks four or five years younger than his age, but he worked high school varsity at 17 and the state varsity tournament, the state legion tournament, and some college ball at 20.

It is a pathetic excuse. He should be right upfront with you and tell you that you are simply not ready yet. And also tell you why. Judging from your posts here, you are not even close to being mature enough to work upper level games of any kind. They'd chew you up and spit you out. You're at least 5 years away experience-wise, and the jury is still out as to whether you'll ever mature enough to become an asset to your umpire's group.

I say that as someone who has been training and assigning officials in two different sports for a long, long time.

There's also no doubt in my mind that you'll also simply dismiss everything that the experienced umpires will tell you in this thread.

You'd be a heckuva lot better off if you'd only learn to shut your mouth and listen for a change.

JMO....feel free to ignore it.

Looks
 

"The names by which things are called are important in shaping our interpretation of reality. People are often surprised to discover that historical labels which define the past are inventions of later scholarship and ideology, not parts of the past itself."

You join an umpire association and think your looks are holding you back.
I suppose the ugly ole geezers should look UP to you.
Pay your dues or quit like everyone else.
There is no overnight pill.

You may have some potential but Im sure you are quite raw & unpolished. You have also made some foolish posts in the past, perception = reality canada6

Canadacoach, I echo the thoughts of my brethren here. Just based on your errant posts, odd opinions, and victim attitude (not just on this post, but others), I would not guess that you are ready for those games at all. Experience is not just knowing where to stand or what to look for ... it's also how to handle (and not BE handled by) coaches and adversity ... it's also how you work with (and not against) your partners, your willingness to learn as much as teach. I think you have a ways to go here. Your young appearance is joined by your youngish attitude, and is likely only half of the story.

Canada, I don't know you from Adam's house cat but let me ask one question. All ability, knowledge, etc set aside...Do think a college coach that's gone toe to toe with some of the best umps in the country will give two hoots what you can do when he sees what looks like a snot nosed 15 year old, still wet behind the ears kid walk onto HIS field? He'll be on you until you're back in diapers. It'd be a Rat's greatest dream come true.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Get the experience in game management and keep improving. You'll get the games when you are indeed ready. Your assignor obviously sees something that you are unaware of. Ask him to tell you, and tell him to be blunt and honest about it.

It seems that those have been around the board longer than I've been back on it have seen somethings for you to work on. Take their advice.

If that is the case, I really wish my assignor would tell me what the real reason is for not giving my higher-level games. All he has given me is "you're too young and you look too young", so I am not about to assume there is any other significant problem until he tells me otherwise.

Actually I have been very good about keeping my feelings on these other officials to myself. I've seen tons of bad umpiring ie calling the pitch before it hits the mit, calling it way too low, etc. I do mention some of these things to one of my umpiring friends, and sometimes my assignor and I discuss other umpires, but I would have to believe that just about everyone else in my association does the same thing. Do you never discuss other umpires' weak points?

You haven't seen some of the guys I work with. That is not to say that all of them are weak- there are 4 or 5 guys who are very good.

How did I do on my most recent evaluation? What did you think about my strike zone? Timing? Positioning? Rulebook knowledge? Uniform? Was it tough evaluating me over the internet?

I am quite different in real life than I am on here. This is a great place to burn off some steam. I'm a perfectionist, and when things aren't going well you're likely to get the whiney side of me on here.

And did I dismiss everything they said to me in this thread? As I virtually always do, I took their advice into account. You know, you've been on my case for a long time. You don't know me. Don't make judgements, and don't tell me how to act because I take offence to that. Go back to the basketball forum where you belong.

I pay my dues every time I do a game by coming prepared, focusing on the play or pitch and studying my rulebook and interpretations. Of course, if paying my dues means standing around on a ball diamond for another 25+ years without putting forth a full effort, then I guess I have a long way to go. Not that you're likely to read this when you choose to ignore-list me.

Yes that is correct, in addition to being a baseball umpire, I am also a baseball coach and baseball player. I know you all hate me for it, but frankly I couldn't care less if any of you are jelous. Because jelousy is the only explanation I can think of for why you guys hate players and coaches so much.

I take offence to this statement as well. I'm not snot nosed and that is certainly something that you can decide, considering the fact that you've never seen me.

No he will not. If he starts trying to intimidate me, he's on a very short leash. I can stand my ground no matter who old or experienced the coach. I don't care how long he's been in the game, so long as he is respectful we will not have any problems. I am not about to let anyone give me a hard time.

You obviously read what you wanted to in my post. And quoted the "offensive" comment. I worded it specifically not to be offensive. I was trying my damnedest to give you advice. I will not make that mistake again. I will not apologize for the comments because:

1. - I started by saying that I don't know you.
2. - I said when the coach sees what looks like...I did not say you were a snot nosed kid.

You said you are 19 and look 15. You can't have a lot of experince in games of the stature the games "you missed out on" would have. You need experience in game management. You may put the coach on a short leash, but he WILL make you feel like a putz before he leaves the field, and he probably won't show you much respect on the front end.

You may go prepared, that's great. But you need to learn to take constructive criticism. If you'll notice, everyone bashed you about your style of posting, your attitude, etc on the board. I never once made a comment directed at any of this. You don't want advice - quit freakin' asking for it.

You claim to be offended by the snot nosed kid comment - your reaction leads me to believe that it may be an accurate statement.

You want some advice? You want to get college games, major high school playoff games? Grow the hell up!!!!

[QUOTE=canadaump6] All he has given me is "you're too young and you look too young"

You're too young could well mean that you lack sufficient experience. If you look young, you look young.








and when things aren't going well you're likely to get the whiney side of me on here.

No place for whiney on this job, during the game or online.


Go back to the basketball forum where you belong.

Not your call.




Because jelousy is the only explanation I can think of for why you guys hate players and coaches so much.

I truly doubt jealousy has anything to do with it.





No he will not. If he starts trying to intimidate me, he's on a very short leash. QUOTE]

There you go Lance, put 'em on the bubble....... :rolleyes:

Wow, Canada. Your last two words of your original post were:

"Your thoughts?"

This means you wanted us to say what we thought. Then when we did what you requested, you had something to criticize every single poster about.

I guess we all should have said, "yes, Canadaump6, you are so worthy of higher level games. Your assignor must be a real jag not to recognize your superior skill level and years of experience. Why, there ought to be a special section in Cooperstown in your honor."

If you do not want honest opinions, do not ask for them.

Young looking?
 

For the record,
1) I was unaware I upset your nationality.
2) I have never used the ignore list.
3) I have been wrong before.

This is my same take on this thread.

Peace

1. If you aren't ready for the answer, don't ask the question.

2. It is near unanimous that your posts on this board do not reflect the thinking or ability of an umpire ready for college ball. Your rules interpretations, opinions of mechanics and history of game management have all been brought into question by your own words.

3. There are coaches who umpire and umpires who coach. There is a vast difference between the two.

4. If you think you have already arrived, you've missed the journey.

While I'm certainly not going to play the role of the wise, old, advice giving sage (I'm only 24), I will pass on some of the best advice that ever been given to me.

I had been working at my current job for about 2 years, had passed my board registry (I'm in the medical field), and felt I was due a nice raise. My yearly evaluation came and went with only the standard yearly pay raise (this is about the only time anybody gets pay raises). Thinking that my efforts were being overlooked I got pissed and debated going to my supervisor with my complaint. My dad, however, informed me that a better idea would be to continue working hard, because as he said, "hard work doesn't get overlooked" and that "anything worth having is worth waiting for".

Well, turns out he was right and about 6 months later my supervisor informed me that he wanted to see how I responded to the additional responsibilty of being board registered and whether or not I could handle the relationships between my co-workers, who in most cases were older and not registered. He said that I had handled the situation in a mature fashion and had earned a much more significant raise that he actually had to wait for the new fiscal year to start because it wasn't something that would fit under the old budget. So ultimately by listening to my dad, constantly working hard, and letting my actions do my talking, I have advanced according to what I've earned.

If I would have walked around with a chip on my shoulder thinking I was being overlooked or treated unfairly I wouldn't be where I am today. Canada, I've been where you are in both my professional life and with officiating, and the key is maturity and understanding that things happen when they are supposed to and for a reason. Being a 24 year-old husband and father of a 4-year old has probably pushed me that direction more than anything, but I've learned that life is too short to worry about what's wrong and so much more fun when you look at what's going right. Relax, don't worry about the big games, concern yourself with the moment you're in, and take pride in doing what you are doing whether its the big game or the game between two 0-14 middle school teams. I know it may not be PC to quote Bible verses but check out Matthew 6:25-34. It's is a great passage to remind us that we all too often worry about very unimportant things and miss out on the good stuff.

1) Yup, you took everybody's advice into account, and then dismissed all of it....just as I predicted. You're predictable.

2) Know you? I was you! I started officiating both football and basketball when I was 15, and when I was 19 I was sure that I (a) knew everything that was possible to know about officiating, and (b) was better than the great majority of my fellow officials. I also ran my mouth off, just like you, but I was lucky enough though to have an assignor that sat me down and read the riot act to me. I was also smart enough to listen to him. It was amazing to discover as I got more experience just how much I didn't know and also how my fellow officials weren't as bad as I thought they were. Since then, I've also seen a ton of officials just like I was (and you are). It's fairly common in officials who start young. Some listen, figure it out, mature and turn into productive, competent officials. Others just become "bodies" or leave because nobody will recognize their vast talents. Which way you go now depends solely on you. Your future posts will tell us which group you're in.

Again, feel free to dismiss completely what I said, as well as what everybody else has told you also. Personally, I really don't give a sh!t either way.

In the grand scheme of things, I don't think this is a big deal; however the proper phrase is "I couldn't care less". Your phrasing suggests you do care whether or not your advice is ignored. If you can't care less that means you essentially don't care at all, which is what I think you were going for. This is just one of those things that I feel the random need to correct all the time for some reason. ;)

http://www.forumspile.com/Care-Map.jpg

P.S.- I went back and edited my post for clarity. :D

Well, the original poster is unreadable due to my ignore list, but after reading the posts from all those that still try to talk to this individual..........

In reference to looking young -

You may look young and that cannot be helped. People look at you and judge; there is nothing that you can do about that. My son is 19 and still looks like a young man. When he gets on the field, he gives the perception of an older, experienced umpire in his manner and the respect that he shows to others. He doesn't care if they do not respect them, he sets the standard for that.

I've seen him in ugly situations where I was not on the game. I watched him defuse many situations and when necessary, eject when needed. Not once has any coach complained to the association about anything. As a matter of fact, many HS coaches have asked why he does not do Varsity until they are told that he is only 19.

When the assigner feels that my son is ready, he will be put on some Varsity work but until then, my son doesn't complain! He works what he gets and does so in a professional manner. When he is on the field, he gets the same respect that I do. Not because of the uniform but because he earned it from the coaches in the area. When he went to the State's Babe Ruth, he faced coaches that never saw him before. His UIC had nothing but good things to say about his work and his interaction with the staff and coaches.

He is in college so doing NCAA is out of the question in this area. I would not even approach Nick about putting him on NCAA without Varsity experience.

So here we have two people in the same business, the same age, looking the same (young looking) with two different attitudes. One will take what he gets and still remain professional. He will take criticism and work with it. He will work with other umpires good and bad and still remain professional even in the post game remarks. He gives honest ratings when asked by the assigner (we are all asked to rate our partners at times). He comes to the rules meetings and participates in the discussions and exercises. He interacts with other umpires in our association and outside our association on and off the field like a young man, not a hot shot. And when it is time, he still acts like a typical 19 year old - asks for money, stays out late, raises hell (only slightly), plays golf with his friends and still pi$$es off Dad now and then.

Then there is our poster from the North!

Finis

Are you in this picture?
 

Canada,

Are you in the picture that was posted on the ABUA forum at: http://www.umpire.org/modules.php?na...ewtopic&t=5070?

I can hear the conversation from here....

"You know Jim, CanadaUmp thinks you move your head while you're calling pitches. And Stu, accordingly to the kid, you should be hustling a little more, unless you're just too old to be out there. Bill, he really thinks you blew that interference award last week. Roger, he has told me he has to fight to keep from laughing on your punch-out mechanic."

Why would you believe everyone else does the same? What I picture when I read these comments is an arrogant, snot-nosed kid. "I do it so everyone else must be." If you're the "new kid" on the block," you can bet what you say to one of the older guys, makes it around to the others. I can't see any problems here.... :eek:

Paying your dues means calling lower levels games, going to the dingiest fields and dealing with the worst managers. And doing it professionally and without complaint or whine. That's how you earn higher level games.

"No one who is truly great at something has ever had to convince others that they are." One of the greatest lines I've ever read some years ago. Unfortunately I can't give credit where due. Take a couple extra moments and consider what it means.

I certainly agree with the others well meant advice, but playing devils advocate, lets look at it this way.
OK, lets say what you feel is actually correct--your assignor is basically discriminating against you, a very good umpire who is 19. Well then welcome to the real world. Hardworking people are not always rewarded. Sometimes things just dont go your way. Others make mistakes that can effect you. Deal with it. If having an assignor not giving you what you want is the biggest problem you have, maybe things arent so bad after all.
So you look very young? Perception is reality. Trust me, if looking too young is the case, you may regret it now, but will enjoy it later in life. This is from one who knows--being "carded" at bars till I was over 35......

I can assure you with a great degree of confidence that NO ONE on this board is jealous of you, for any reason, but if someone on this board was, it would SURELY not be because you also coach.

I call you canadacoach not because you also coach (which I actually was unaware of when I typed that, both here and in previous posts).

I call you canadacoach because in the vast majority of other threads, you talk like a coach and act like a coach. Perhaps your supervisors see that same thing in you.

And I'll echo what a few others have said... it is an EXTREMELY childish thing to come on a board like this, ask for advice or input, and then blast the advice or input. If you didn't want to know, you surely shouldn't have asked.

Hey canada..
 

Give it all a rest for a moment.

I've been officiating for twelve straight years, UIC for the last three, been to and conducted numerous clinics.

I can call a game at any position with a fair knowledge of what it is I am responsible to do and call. Even with all of that, most members of this group far outweigh my knowledge and experience level. Yours too, that's why you consulted them as I do.

I come here for the things I do not know that I should know. So do you.

Like every piece of advice anyone offers you: take the advice and use it for what it is worth. If you consider yourself a student of officiating, [as in always learning] you will find value in every piece of advice given you.

When you seek counsel from your peers and then criticize that very counsel, you betray yourself.

my .02
 

Sorry if I sound cold hearted today, but my friend, you just have to get over it.........descrimination is a part of life........especially in officiating...and Im not saying its right, but if you have been an umpire for any period of time you will have to have seen some of it in action........

How you deal with it is what separates you from the rest...........in sports officiating to have some descrimination come your way you only have to be too short, too fat,too skinny, have facial hair, glasses, long hair, short hair, no hair, an accent, too old, too young, be female, be white, black or asian, be new to officiating, be a long time vet of officiating.......

The one constant thing about descrimination in sports officiating is that it does not descriminate...........depending on who is doing the evaluation, no one is 100% immune.........

what can you do?........do the best you can. The rest will take care of it self........If a TD or league does not want me, I will not lose one game over it........there are plenty of games to go around.

I have read through the posts and taken them into account, whether agreeing with them or not. Will respond in further detail later on.

As a 20 year old (young enough to be a son of almost all members of this forum), I feel the need to respond on several fronts.

CanadaUmp: I feel the same way as you at times in regard to assignors. I too think I'm a good official, and get praise after I work a game from my partners. That being said, I still have loads to learn, mainly about game management and quirky rules interps. I do my best on the rules stuff, as that knowledge can be attained just be reading and rereading. Regarding game management - some naturally have it. Stories like ozzy's son show that. I do not have it yet, but constantly work on it. Its difficult to manage a game well when you have a lousy partner, which is what I am most of the time stuck with since I can't do HS ball due to being away for college. By the time I get home, the season is almost started, and I work my way into the crap shoot of umpires that is summer ball. I'll work with good partners occasionally, and not good ones other times. My experience tells me that you just have to keep working hard and if you deserve it, you'll get it.

Last year I got slightly upset when I wasn't working any adult league games. I thought my assignors were just assuming I couldn't handle it, even when they never saw me umpire (honestly, I've never had an assignor for big field ball evaluate or observe me). But then I realized, its not that he doesn't think I'm good enough, its that he already has good enough guys to do these games!

So you have to break into that threshold, which can be hard because politics could be played depending on your association. The only way to do it is through hard work and constant, honest vigilance on your performance.

I've taken a lot of good stuff from this thread, and taken it all into account. However I do think there is some bad mixed in with the good- a couple people claimed that it is not my age and appearance holding me back, it's my lack of skill. The thing that gets me there is that these people have never seen me work. Now I do take some blame for that. A while ago I said I'd get some kind of video up of me calling a ballgame so that I could get some critique, and I have yet to do that, so for now you guys are stuck with assuming whether or not I am in fact decent.

Ozzy, you have been a problem to me even before I started showing signs of a possible attitude problem. I'm not going to sugarcoat here; you have disliked me from the start, and as a result I do not like you either. While I have considered your advice and reminded myself to behave just as Ozzy's perfect child does, I am not impressed with the old "my son is better than you" BS. I tend to very quickly grow tired of parents that go on about their kids, and doing so to belittle me is just not something I am going to put up with.

BoomerSooner, I greatly appreciate the advice you gave me. I read through Matthew 6:25-34. And I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times before, but way to hang in there and get the promotion you deserved!;)

Jurassic Referee, just realize that this is my place to vent and act spoiled, so that it doesn't carry over into real life. Now I am going to politely ask that you stop lecturing and judging me as you so often like to do. If you can't contribute or gain from this forum, go back to the basketball and football ones as those are the sports you officiate.

t-rex, I am in the Cooperstown Dreams Park picture you posted. I am in the second row. Amongst the people that are sitting, I am on the very far right, but there are some people standing beside me as well. And yes it's not a good picture of me but I'm not photogenic.

Chucktownblue, you mentioned:
Paying your dues means calling lower levels games, going to the dingiest fields and dealing with the worst managers. And doing it professionally and without complaint or whine. That's how you earn higher level games.

I do lower level games when asked by my assignor. Out of about 55 games this year, I've done a couple 7/8 year old house league machine pitch games. Did one early in the year to mentor a younger umpire doing his first ever game; we even had to stand around for 45 minutes because there was a scheduled practice before the "game" that we were never told about. I do these kinds of things without complaint, and my assignor gives me low-level games anytime he is stuck for guys and the higher-level stuff has been taken.

mbcrowder wrote: And I'll echo what a few others have said... it is an EXTREMELY childish thing to come on a board like this, ask for advice or input, and then blast the advice or input. If you didn't want to know, you surely shouldn't have asked.

I'm trying to be patient here, but I already said that "I took all advice into account,".

Tuss Agee wrote: I thought my assignors were just assuming I couldn't handle it, even when they never saw me umpire (honestly, I've never had an assignor for big field ball evaluate or observe me

That is a frustration for me as well; I have never had someone do an evaluation of me. All that my umpire in chief and assignor know about my umpiring comes from word of mouth from other umpires, coaches, and when they work games with me.

Garth: University and College baseball are totally different things. University ball is not nearly as competetive, although it is still competetive. I assure you that it wouldn't be that hard to do; that may make me cocky for saying that, but it is the truth.

You're right. We haven't seen you work. All we're provided with to judge are your posts. These have included mistaken rule intepretations, incorrect mechanics, examples of terrible game management and whining over your treament by your fellow umpires.

What other conclusion can one draw from the evidence submitted than you are not ready to move up?

If you're looking to place blame some where for the tenor of the replies, look to yourself and what you post here. If you want an instant improvement to the perception people have of you, shut up and listen; stop preaching and start learning.

Yup, exactly as predicted. :rolleyes:

'Nuff said and 'nuff time wasted.

I like the way he says this is "my place to vent and act spoiled."

What on earth gave him the idea that a forum made up of macho, manly, ego driven umpires is a place to act like a two-year old?

Hey all,

Canadaump's demeanor reminds me of LLDAN and his wristband issue. He couldn't take the "heat" of being anonymous on an internet forum, either. If, as i suspect, Canada's umpire skills are as "great" as his ability to take criticism, he should stick to umpiring T-ball and machine pitch games.

LomUmp:cool:

Classic!<iiiii>

Let's not forget this comment. Long before any player, coach or partner has judged you by your actions on the field they've already made a judgment on your appearance.

The aforementioned seems to be a BIG problem with posters on the internet Forum these days.

You ask "Your thoughts" Receive them and then feel the need to respond to those thoughts because you are not getting the desired response.

When you ask for someone's thoughts, opinions etc. that's what they are going to give you.

You in turn either accept or reject, yet you keep responding so "in effect" you did not want their thoughts but wanted answers to agree with your perception of what happened to you.

Why the negativity in some responses?

For the most part people do not know you and can only judge on the quality and content of your posts. As Garth said your answers to various rule / mechanic questions throughout your time here leave something to be desired.

IMO, in order to answer properly we need to know what kind of umpire organization you are in and is there an abundance of baseball where you live.

Case and point: I am 51 but in my early years it was virtually impossible to get tournament games etc. no matter how good you were.

At that time there was HS, Legion and the rookie league - That's it. There was not the plethora of travel teams etc. which we have today. At that time the Vets wanted all those games to themselves. It was the good ole boy network at work and at that time they could cover all the games.

Here's my advice and this is what I did.

Seek out a mentor, one whom is fair and "knows the ropes" not only from a rules / mechanics situation but for game management.

I kept a note-book when I started not only on rules / mechanics but on coaches as well. I would "pick my mentor's brain" on how to handle certain coaches.

Also, a <b> MUST </b> if you want to improve - Be able to take constructive criticism which from your post here seems you have a problem with.

Seek out work no matter where. Again as I said above I do not know the "make-up" of your association or how many games there are to umpire.

Summary: If you want to "change your perception" seek out a mentor, read the rule book, study mechanics so that when you post in the future you not only give responses but something that "supports" your answer rather than give "off the cuff" responses which you have a tendency to do.

Pete Booth

I seriously hope you can see the contradiction here. You're obviously not doing a very good job of keeping your feelings to yourself if you're discussing them with everyone else.


Tim.

Everybody's wrong and he's right.

Same old, same old.

Got a whole lot of growing up to do, and it may never happen......

I was at a basketball camp this year and the topic of a lecture was "moving up." The key point was that sometimes we don't know why we get, or don't get, the "promotion" or "big game" -- we can have a "great year" by any objective standard, and still find our schedule reuduced the next year.

All we can do is control what we can control and let the rest take care of itself. Note that this applies not only to how we work the games, but how we comport ourselves in person and on-line.

Wow, it must have been inflammatory. Well, more inflammatory than what everyone else has posted so far.

Some valid comments, but I can't agree with these.

It's not a matter pf paying your dues <b>longer</b>; it's a matter of paying your dues <b>period</b>! It's no different starting at the age of 36 than it is at 18. You have to gain knowledge and experience at both ages before you will be ready to do higher level ball. What you eventually do out on the field will determine your future assignments.

You're mistaking youth with inexperience imo.