Anybody here do multiple sports?
I am new to softball and wonder how well doing more than one sport works with the vets?

I officiate Basketball as a primary sport... I never thought I could do another sport after basketball season or before the season for that matter. Basketball is a very emotional sink for me with the effort that I put into it...
But with a shortage of umpires in an area I lived and only after several unsuccessful years of recruitment I finally tried softball (Not because I had any talent.. But because they only needed a warm body). They promised me that I would only have to work the bases.... My second NFHS game was behind the plate without a partner.. I was lucky though that the coaches knew me from Basektball and they were very merciful... Or maybe it was just that they never had any objection due to their constant laughter...
It works... Although I still think of myself as just a warm body used as filler... Or maybe fodder would be a better choice of words. This will be my third season in softball and I'm still working hard to understand the sport and how one can get by without a whistle. Although it is challenging to try to get it back through your mask after to spit it out to call balls and strikes.
I do have several friends though that work around the year.. Football in the Fall, Basketball in the Winter, and Softball/Baseball in the Spring and Summer... They seem to do just fine!
Good Luck!

I dont .. but I know many umps that do. Its very common. Some I know even officiate..
*gulp*

soccer.

Can you imagine?

No. Ive never even tried to play soccer.
http://smilies.sofrayt.com/sae/soccer4.gif
The only sports I would even condsider are softball and basketball; maybe volleyball.

I'm a year 'round official: Baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball.

Wow. http://smilies.sofrayt.com/aiw/body-builder.gif[Automated by GetSmile]
Whats the hardest to officiate? and how long did it take you to get all the rules straight?

Softball/Football myself. I find that having 2 sports gives me enough time in between each to relax and reset my brain for the next sport, including time to restudy and brush up on rule changes.

Not sure how I could fit in a third sport - I give the one sport I'm in at the time 100%.

Basketball by far is the most difficult. It's impossible to see everything with the non-stop action and bodies clustered in one area. It is also the most emotional from players and fans alike.

Baseball and softball are the most difficult to learn rules-wise. Too many different governing bodies with different codes in this area. I visit this message board daily to test myself on situations, interpretations, and skills needed to be a good umpire.

I only officiate softball, but I coach soccer. Once you get the idea of what's going on out on the field it is an interesting game.

I tried to ref. basketball but I would watch the game like a coach and I was not very good. I would catch myself watching what offense/defense they were running and forget to make the calls.

Six of them
 

I did six sports forever...and then realized I loved softball more than the rest of them.

Used to work football/volleyball in fall, basketball/wrestling in winter, baseball/softball in spring.

Then I just started doing football, basketball and softball.

THen I started doing fall league softball, indoor softball and spring softball, and then summer softball. Didn't leave a lot of time of anything else.

I occassionally sneak in a football game here or there, but I only did two last year, as well as two basketball games.

Began calling football in 1997. Liked it so much, I looked for another to continue the next spring. Softball seemed more fun than I'd seen in baseball when my sons played. (Parents of 8-9 yr. olds seeing major league contracts was just way too much stress.)

Still do both. I enjoy both, but right now, softball has football beat hands down.

No question that the football rules are more difficult to learn that softball, even though I only do 2 "divisions" of SB; NFHS & Dixie. I've also heard from others that football has the most complicated rules of any sport.

To keep it a little more simple, I work at Umpire in football, so I don't have to learn what I am. :^}

<b>That's just like a wo-man.</b> Just kidding.http://www.spao.de/pict/smilies/catfly.gif

Did you work any dome games yet? Maybe same ones Tom worked?

Basketball and softball, and the two of them keep me plenty busy. Basketball finished up the first weekend of March, and ASA softball is starting up here in a couple weeks. At the end of fall softball, about mid-October, I have a few weeks until basketball starts late November. Overall, I work the majority of the year, and I don't think I could handle another sport. I need my time off to recharge and study. The main positive is I know my game management and skills in dealing with coaches improved at a much more rapid rate. Especially softball - those coaches seem tame compared to basketball.

I used to work, baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball and soccer.
Slowly bur surely I have been giving them up except for softball.
I am still sure I was brain damaged when I worked soccer
I somehow just got out of volleyball and baseball no longer holds my interest.
I took the year off from basketball due to pain from a torn tendon but hope to go back this next year.

Basketball is the best and the hardest to work but softball is pure enjoyment.

Glen:

I actually worked at the same time as Tom, bout time I finally met the man since we work in the same assn. I had done 10 dome games of college already so the rust was off. I was not about to do more than 3 games of plate in a row for nothing though so I went home.

Back to the subject, softball is a great sport to officiate because you meet very nice people. I think soccer would be boring to officiate, coaching is not boring though.