18U State

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Well..........got picked for 18U "B" State........

And have over a month to get pumped for it........

Damn.........I am excited

Maybe a Nationals in my future.......

Joel

[Steve M]

Joe,
That's great news - congrats.

[whiskers_ump]

Joel, CONGRATS, Where is it being played? ASA, right?
I have been selected to the AFA State tournament mid
July in Beaumont, and the AFA 18U Nationals in July/
Aug, also Beaumont.
.

[mick]

Originally posted by Gulf Coast Blue
Well..........got picked for 18U "B" State........

And have over a month to get pumped for it........

Damn.........I am excited

Maybe a Nationals in my future.......

Joel

Joel,
Excellent!
I'm sure you'll be an asset to the tournament.
mick

[IRISHMAFIA]

I sure wish the umpires around here had your attitude toward State tournaments that you guys do.

Whether FP or SP, we have to beg and threaten people to work our States. Too many games and not enough umpires, folks have gotten into a pattern of placing their umpiring into a "well, I'll do it if I have to" category.

When I came up, it was an honor to work Championship play. Even in regionals, it is tough to get what you need. Too many folks give you, "sure I can help, but they have to be...". Problem is that everyone wants to work the first two games of the day and go home.

But they all want to go to Nationals and think just because they work a few State tournaments it automatically qualifies them to go away. Well, if your in Delaware and want to go away, you better know your rules and mechanics. Our UIC will not send someone away who may cause embarrassment to the state. At the 1999 ASA National UIC Clinic, the National Staff made it quite clear that sending unqualified umpires to nationals would directly reflect on that State/Metro and it's UIC.

Fortunately, we have a commissioner who supports the umpires as much as humanly possible. In the past, Delaware would get one National every two or three years. This year, out of 125 umpires, 8 are going away to a National Six are through host-exchanges and two are At Large billets.

So, you would think that there would be some type of incentive to work States. I've already had to start begging for bodies for the five I am running this year.

Whatever! Joel, I'm glad to see you are excited and hope this leads to bigger and better things for you. Just remember, do it right.

[Edited by IRISHMAFIA on May 27th, 2001 at 08:46 AM]

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Mike.......

To me it IS an honor........I WANT that good evaluation (I want to move up to Regional/National play).........believe me......it tears me up when I see some of the stuff I see in post season.......(3 daughters = 14 States, 1 Regional, 1 National).......2 more States......and maybe a National in the future this year.

Our Umpire association (small compared to you.........40 umpires) sends a high number percentage umpires to State (and even a few to National tournaments).......we have a good Rep (15 to States this year and 3 to Nationals {best guess}).

Our area UIC (who is also in our Association) was picked to be one of the umpires for the AAAA State championships.

Our Area UIC and District UIC recognize hard work and are willing to recommend qualified candidates.

TX is a HUGE area and there are more than enough umpires to work State tournaments..........even Regional's held here.

I can see in some cases where an individual umpire might be a bit picky with selection because many umpires have other commitments (whether they be their kids/work, etc.).

I myself do not have the luxury to call much HS ball because of the early start times........my job is one where I have to be there during those hours.......

Sorry to run on so long.........and THANKS for the compliment......

Joel

[Steve M]

I have to say that I'm the best ump in my disrict and I want any & all big games that are being played. Over the past couple years, this has been changing. There are several other umps around here who want to do thngs the right way - I'll tak part of the credt for that. I'll do their evaluations and work with them, but the key to theirimproving is that they want to do things right and are willing to listen in order to get there. Anyway, with this improvement, I'm stepping down from some of the choicer assignments. In another assciation that I'm part of, I'm just now getting to be known and I'm the on listening and looking for improvements. It's kind of a one-man version of "each one teach one or more". My district usally has 3 or 4 state championships and a regional every other year. I'm there from an hour before the first game on the first day until the last game on the last day. When not scheduled for the final or the IF game, I'm enjoying being in the beer bracket. I got a cheap thrill in a men's B regional a year or so ago - walked to the plate for the
pre-game, and the captain/catcher sez "Damn, Blue, you must be an old jarhead wih those shoes. The glare from that shine is gonna make it tough on my fielders." I admit, I take some pride in looking good, doing it rght, and especially in seeing thse I've worked with do it right. The problem here is that our commissioner thinks that all you need to do to be an ump is to fill out a registration form and give him a check. We're finally at the point where a number of those I've worked with want to have an active chapter - kinda like our high school chapter, but going into more depth. Joel, those who've taught you should feel good about where you've gotten to in a few years - especially ater all that corruption from coaching.

[Gulf Coast Blue]

I had a really long response typed ........ and got kicked.....arghhhhhh

All I can say is thanks!!

Joel

[IRISHMAFIA]

Joel,

The 125 is the total of registered umpires in Delaware. My association only has 43 active umpires and some of them will disappear when HS is done.

Mike

[SamNVa]

Just wanted to add my congratulations to all the others.

I know you'll do a great job!

--Sam