When is it Time
 

Hi all:

Tee's latest OP about him hanging it up got me to thinking (could be dangerous)

At the end of every season do you say to yourself

"Self it's time to call it a career I had enough"

Then Jan / Feb rolls around and you start the cycle all over again.

To me quitting umpiring is similar to quitting smoking (for those of you who have smoked and stopped) meaning we either Do IT or NOT.

Case and point:

Have you come into a year saying I am going to cut down on my schedule. Then the season begins, Tournaments come around and the assignor calls you and says

"I know you said you wanted to cut down on your schedule but I am in a bind and need you to do 6-9 games this weekend"

Before you know it you are 'back in the groove" doing as many games as you did in the past.

I know injuries have a part in our decision but have any of you said to yourself at the end of another season

"I had enough" or

When do you think you will finally call it a day.

Thanks

Pete Booth

When I can no longer beat the B/R to 3rd, I will (hopefully have the good sense to) restrict myself to lower levels of play.

When umpiring ceases to be fun, I will give it up. I can't see that happening.

I've thought a few times about reducing my schedule after a spell of Hor$e$h1t games, but I'm too addicted...

Beats the alternative - - - staying at home working on an endless list of honey-do items!

I'm on this same page. I can still run in my 50s, so I am going to keep calling challenging games. I've never done lower level yet, so I look forward to the small diamond when the legs no longer vault me forward. There are several 70-plus guys in our area who do PONY and a few freshman games. That's quite a while off for me, but I can see myself enjoying the youngsters at that stage.

I am always puzzled by this. Here in San Diego, you don't just start right in doing upper level baseball. They make everyone here pay their dues by working youth ball first, then a little JV, then finally Varsity. I was well into my 2nd year umpiring before I got Varsity games, then only sporadically. My 3rd year I was full-time Varsity and adult ball, but the first two years were brutal with the LL minors, majors, and horsey-ball.

First year: Fr, JV, small-school varsity, men's American wood and metal, scout ball, HS winter ball

I got recruited to join one of the HS units (there are several in L.A.), and then became an associate member of the larger unit later on. I did the men's ball right away because they were short of umpires for the older divisions. Between scout ball, men's ball, winter ball and by doing all hardball, I got in a lot more games, and essentially got three years' worth the first year. So I was able to move up pretty fast.

You're lucky. Our HS group (back when I joined there was only one, now there are two) also did the bulk of the youth ball throughout the county, so the rookies and 2nd year umps drew those assignments. And my assignor would tell tales of the real old days (the 50's and 60's) when you didn't get a sniff of high school ball until you had been a member in good standing of the SDCBUA for at least 5 years. At the time I started, my getting varsity my 2nd year was the exception rather than the rule.

Steve,

That's great that you were confident enough to pick up varsity games two years in. I spent five years umpiring in the lower levels before I knew I was ready for varsity ball. Just wanted to see the plays happen and not just read about them. The downside is that I picked up some bad mechanics from either working by myself or partners who had good intentions, but were not well trained themselves.

Cheers,
Matt

Steve I can understand working your way up but an official who is HS certified should start at the modified level (mostly 7th / 8th graders) as that is what is done in my association.

Working LL minors/ majors can only lead to bad habits. Also, LL does not use FED rules so IMO it would be a detriment starting there.

Pete Booth

Time to (re)start... After about 7 years of kiddie ball, my youngest turned 16 so we joined the local HS group and got in some dues paying worse than rec ball JV games this spring. The younger, faster, and better vision umpire of the family now wants to know how to block partners as he did not like working with a hat backwards guy the other night in a rec league game.

Not a bad way to spend quality time with a teenager (traveling to meetings, talking ball, traveling to games, etc.). With creative scheduling and make up work at lunch, he only missed 4 or 5 of his last period classes because of our shared "illness".

While we are paying our dues with the games no one else wants, we do remind ourselves how much fun we are having and how much we would miss it.

I work basketball and just got back into baseball this year. I walked away from both sports in the past. I worked baseball for about five years, three of those years in the middle doing HS games and gave it up about six years ago for two reasons; I had kids playing and no longer really had the time, and I wasn't having much fun anymore. I also walked away from basketball two years ago strictly because I got burned out on the travel and again, I felt like I was having more nights where I wasn't enjoying it than those where I was. I stayed out of basketball for one season and found that I missed it a lot, particularly the cameraderie of my fellow officials and the feeling of doing something well that most people are afraid to do. I got back into basketball this past season and enjoyed it again and really have a different attitude about working games. I appreciate the opportunity more.

It remains to be seen how baseball will pan out. I have a son who is a senior this year and I am working in games around his schedule. I've only worked two doubleheaders so far and have another on Friday. So far so good, although I always liked working basketball better than baseball even though baseball is my favorite sport. I intend on working a full schedule in baseball next year.

I hope that if I don't realize when my skills have eroded to the point I can no longer call a decent game someone I know will tell me. I don't want to hang around too long because I have seen and worked with some of those guys and it is kind of a sad spectacle. I don't want to embarrass myself out there or have people pity me. On the other hand, based on my personal experience I would encourage everyone to stay at it as long as they can still call a good game and are enjoying it. I really missed officiating once I left it; it really does get into your blood.

I've thought about calling it quits several times, but I have succeeded in just backing down my schedule.

I quit calling "small ball" (players that don't shave) 10 years ago, but when I moved two years ago, it made it easier to step back.

Now I only call HS and above. This season I did about 30 games total and this summer I have 10 doubleheaders and will call a few tourneys.

I quit doing the long weekend stuff several years ago, not any fun anymore to call 10 games a day and all that stuff.

I also like to call no more than two games a week.

But I will admit it gets hard around playoff time. Going from calling in two state championships to simply calling a first round playoff game gets tough.
That's when I find that I miss the big games and the big crowds.

Thansk
David

This is first year I have given a thought to giving it up. And I started thinking weeks ago, not at end of season, which is typically October here. I have reduced schedule already, over past few years. I still go when assignor calls, but I am beginning to dislike double headers...

I started in 1986. The association that did high school required new umpires to work LL games. It was SOP. We were well-versed in OBR as well as FED from day one, so by the time I started doing HS ball, I was ready to go. I don't see necessarily how LL minors/majors leads to bad habits. Besides, I had already been working softball, basketball and football, and was a Physical Education major at San Diego State when I started. Also, I was taught mechanics and positioning by a combination of MLB, MiLB and pro school graduates, as our association was thick with them back then. No shortage of good education for the troops.