It's About Time . . .

[SAump]

FWIW...

When I started, I thought I was there for the kids and I would have been there as long as it takes to get the job done. It really didn't matter if a game took less than 2 hours, but it "certainily" was nice to enjoy the entire break between DH's. I noticed the adult coaches would schedule DH's only to play 2/3 of the second game on Saturday. They didn't want to be there past the scheduled time. It was like waiting for the school bell when everyone wanted to leave 15 minutes earlier to get somewhere else, anywhere else. I noticed the second game would get sloppy early and I blamed it on the 2nd string kids. The 2nd string kids were already use to leaving the game with an unfinished attitude because their games were cut short.

I was responsible for game management and I wanted to get the job done well. Everyone wanted a chance for one more hit and it was my job to make that happen. There was no other option than to expand my strike zone. It was my responsibility to keep the game moving along during a half-inning. Yeah, I took my share of bad call comments but I wasn't listening to the "growlers" about the umpire wanting to go home early. I recognized that my calls weren't as important to those kids as another chance to bat. As soon as they began to recognize that 2 complete games were being finished as scheduled, the "sloppyness" factor turned around. The second game began to have meaning again. My calls didn't mean as much as the action taking place on the field and everyone was "happy" with the end results.

TIWAGOS