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I'm assuming, from your signature and from other claims you make, that you work (at least on occasion) NCAA games. To have gotten this far, surely you've attended enough clinics and have enough experience, that you should have been able to put away your rabbit ears by now, and you should know that A) you are there to officiate the game, B) you are not there to enforce whatever your personal opinion of fan decorum may be, C) it is unprofessional to get into any conflict with fans (or even acknowledge they exist) and D) there is a danger to the umpire that can be caused by interacting with fans ... at WHATEVER level. So if you've managed to progress far enough to ignore fan nonsense, why do you feel you have to put the rabbit ears back on at younger games. Where do you get the idea that it is your set of morals that should dictate what is and is not appropriate for fans - what is "obscene"? Seems awfully heavy-handed of you. If you have to do that with players/coaches - fine. You are in charge of the field. You are not in charge of the entire complex. Let someone who IS handle this nonsense. |
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It's the initial fact that you felt it was appropriate to interject yourself. Do you mean to say it was impossible to continue the game, because a parent yelled at a kid (possibly his own). I didn't think that was what you meant ... but that should be the standard. Parent yelling at kid (regardless of his vocabulary) is NOT YOUR JOB. |
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As well intentioned as I am sure your action is meant to be, it just isn't you place to do this. There is no doubt that parents are the bane of youth sports. However, that is the coaching staff's issue, not that of a game official. If the coach believed it affected the player's ability to participate in the game, then s/he is the one who should make the decision, not you. If this were someone attached to the opposing team, I could see you raising the issue, but to the coach, not the fan or TD. You deal with the people on the field, let them deal with the people outside the fences. JMHO, |
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Would you take the same action if, as the pitcher was beggining her delivery:
a boy was talking to her? a coach was screaming at her? a team mate was screaming at her? a grand parent was trying to talk to her? If not, why not? Cannot these all be equally distracting as a parent screaming at the child? I don't need to refocus. When I walk on a field, I know why I am there, to umpire a ball game by the rules of the given sanctioning body. And I have no problem letting the teams take care of themselves, that's why there is adult supervision. |
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Do you umpire with that same chip on your shoulder? |
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I have waited to comment on this thread jsut to see what or how it is dealt with by others.
Everyone is right that an off field issue doesn't belong to the umpires. But then again it does................................. Here is an easy and simple way to deal with the issue that keeps you where you need to be and the players safe. If you have a fan or parent that is causing a problem, and you are aware of it and it is affecting a player's ability to participate in a game. THEN, stop play Call the site administrator/TD/Park Manager/League Officer or the home teams coach Simply tell them the problem and that in your opinion it is effecting the game or the players safety. Finish with "Until the problem is taken care of, we have no game." Then walk away from the fence and talk with your partner or get the coaches together and tell them why as a concern for safety or fair play the game won't continue with PROBLEM X outside the fence. It usually gets taken care of real quickly. We cannot say that a distraction outside of the fence is not our concern because it is. We pay attention to rain approaching lightening car lights in the batters face from the parking lot Use some common sense and don't interject yourself into the situation anymore than is absolutely necessary. |
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