Their only.....

[wadeintothem]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Fed is another story. Then again, is there not supposed to be a school administrator on site for all games? Since it is their school and their responsibility, it would be their job to handle anything outside the fences.

BTW, who really cares who says what? How is the word "bull$hit" going to hurt anyone? Is it detrimental to the psyche of the farm kid whose chores include cleaning out the barnyard before coming to school? Unless the word is directed at someone, who really cares?

Some umpires are really touchy about the slightest cuss word.. you'd think the poor lil thangs are gonna melt if they hear it..

I'm on the trailing end of my last kid becoming an adult.. I can assure every umpire, they have heard the word before.

[cpa]

Well, this is gonna be my last word on this -- but my wife is a school teacher and I am a parent w/ 3 kids who have all played ball growing up. I believe I have a pretty good feel for what parents and administration expect out of me when it comes to dealing with over-the-top fans.

I can tell you that in my umpiring experience that in many cases the umpire is THE authority figure at the park, unless it is a tournament, school or college setting. The lower the level of ball, the more likely it will be that "you're on your own"

Part of the problem w/ society today is that teachers and other authority figures tolerate way more than they should because of legal fears, lack of administrative support, eroding standards, etc.

So what if the kids have heard cussing before -- I can tell you where I live people expect those in authority to rein in and to curb such behavior. I,m not talking about rabbit ears umpires -- I'm talking about idiots who don't know how to act around kids, or in a church league setting, etc. The people that I work for, that my association works for, absolutely expect that sort of behavior to be dealt with.

I am not looking for it, I am not listening for it or seeking it out in any way -- but I can forcefully deal with it in a polite, most of the time discreet way when it happens -- by myself if practical, but by engaging administration if need be

I am not a prude, not particularly religious either -- just a guy w/ enough common sense to not hide behind a rule book that doesn't happen to have an explicit rule covering fart boxes or people screaming "horsesh.t" at 12 year old kids

[CajunNewBlue]

Originally Posted by cpa

Well, this is gonna be my last word on this -- but my wife is a school teacher and I am a parent w/ 3 kids who have all played ball growing up. I believe I have a pretty good feel for what parents and administration expect out of me when it comes to dealing with over-the-top fans.

I can tell you that in my umpiring experience that in many cases the umpire is THE authority figure at the park, unless it is a tournament, school or college setting. The lower the level of ball, the more likely it will be that "you're on your own"

Part of the problem w/ society today is that teachers and other authority figures tolerate way more than they should because of legal fears, lack of administrative support, eroding standards, etc.

So what if the kids have heard cussing before -- I can tell you where I live people expect those in authority to rein in and to curb such behavior. I,m not talking about rabbit ears umpires -- I'm talking about idiots who don't know how to act around kids, or in a church league setting, etc. The people that I work for, that my association works for, absolutely expect that sort of behavior to be dealt with.

I am not looking for it, I am not listening for it or seeking it out in any way -- but I can forcefully deal with it in a polite, most of the time discreet way when it happens -- by myself if practical, but by engaging administration if need be

I am not a prude, not particularly religious either -- just a guy w/ enough common sense to not hide behind a rule book that doesn't happen to have an explicit rule covering fart boxes or people screaming "horsesh.t" at 12 year old kids

Exactly... you read my mind.

[wadeintothem]

Originally Posted by cpa

I can tell you that in my umpiring experience that in many cases the umpire is THE authority figure at the park, unless it is a tournament, school or college setting. The lower the level of ball, the more likely it will be that "you're on your own"

Well ask yourself.. if they are so worried about it, WHY are you the only figure there?

Maybe the different route to take is to tell them what is going on and tell them they need to have someone there. This is what I did last year with the 10U rec parents who were out of control. When the "purple" team was playing, I made the league prez have someone there, because it was affecting my younger umpires.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by cpa

Well, this is gonna be my last word on this -- but my wife is a school teacher and I am a parent w/ 3 kids who have all played ball growing up. I believe I have a pretty good feel for what parents and administration expect out of me when it comes to dealing with over-the-top fans.

I can tell you that in my umpiring experience that in many cases the umpire is THE authority figure at the park, unless it is a tournament, school or college setting. The lower the level of ball, the more likely it will be that "you're on your own"

Part of the problem w/ society today is that teachers and other authority figures tolerate way more than they should because of legal fears, lack of administrative support, eroding standards, etc.

So what if the kids have heard cussing before -- I can tell you where I live people expect those in authority to rein in and to curb such behavior. I,m not talking about rabbit ears umpires -- I'm talking about idiots who don't know how to act around kids, or in a church league setting, etc. The people that I work for, that my association works for, absolutely expect that sort of behavior to be dealt with.

I am not looking for it, I am not listening for it or seeking it out in any way -- but I can forcefully deal with it in a polite, most of the time discreet way when it happens -- by myself if practical, but by engaging administration if need be

I am not a prude, not particularly religious either -- just a guy w/ enough common sense to not hide behind a rule book that doesn't happen to have an explicit rule covering fart boxes or people screaming "horsesh.t" at 12 year old kids

And herein lies the problem. I am a teacher. If I am busy listening to what is going on in the halls or in the classroom next door, how do I have time to attend to my teaching duties in my classroom. And believe me, I am as tough a displinarian as you will find. There are things written all over this school about me because of how tough I am. (And they aren't too nice!)

When I umpire, my duties are on the field, between the fences. (My classroom, if you are missing the analogy.) I have way too much to do there to spend my time policing the domain of the on site administrator. (These folk get extra pay to be here. They are paid to police the crowd and to be there in the event of any major problem. I have found most do an excellent job, but there are those that might need a little prodding to their job.)

Am I hiding behind the rule book. No. I am doing the job for which I am being paid.

[cpa]

Folks -- I'm not talking about Fed ball, college ball or even well run rec ball -- hell, that's the easiest ball to call because you do have outside controls and sanctions available to restrain egregious behavior -- I'm talking about the kind of ball where the umpire is pretty much it as far as controlling the field for a safe and appropriate environment for kids.

When an administrator is NOT present, or is unavailable, I am not going to bury my head in the sand because "it ain't my job". I have seen too many episodes where taunting between the first and third base bleachers a) distracted the kids trying to enjoy the game when parents were acting the fool, or b) worse, the situation escalated into "fighting words" either behind home plate or in the parking lot. Police were called, in several cases, because the umpires let situations get out of hand when a firm hand minutes earlier would have stopped it cold.

An authoritative umpire working WITH and THROUGH coaches can nip that stuff in the bud -- most of the time it has the effect of reminding the folks that they are there to watch their kids and that they may be deprived of that if they continue.

I'm not viewed as heavy-handed and I have had the opportunity to officiate many games thru the years involving bitter rivals where trouble might be expected -- and I think I've had 5-6 ejections in 20 years

The governing boards where I work know they are not gonna have a bunch of extracurricular crap going on in the stands. They know I expect the kids to play and hopefully have fun but I absolutely expect to grown ups to act like adults.

[Skahtboi]

You said:

Originally Posted by cpa

When an administrator is NOT present, or is unavailable, I am not going to bury my head in the sand because "it ain't my job".

And Mike offered a way to do it properly. But this following statement you made implies that even if an adminstrator is present, you still see it as your job to police the stands:

Originally Posted by cpa

I am not looking for it, I am not listening for it or seeking it out in any way -- but I can forcefully deal with it in a polite, most of the time discreet way when it happens -- by myself if practical, but by engaging administration if need be

Your first line of action if there is administration available, should be to alert them, and then turn your focus back to your duties.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by cpa

Well, this is gonna be my last word on this -- but my wife is a school teacher and I am a parent w/ 3 kids who have all played ball growing up. I believe I have a pretty good feel for what parents and administration expect out of me when it comes to dealing with over-the-top fans.

I can tell you that in my umpiring experience that in many cases the umpire is THE authority figure at the park, unless it is a tournament, school or college setting. The lower the level of ball, the more likely it will be that "you're on your own"

Part of the problem w/ society today is that teachers and other authority figures tolerate way more than they should because of legal fears, lack of administrative support, eroding standards, etc.

So what if the kids have heard cussing before -- I can tell you where I live people expect those in authority to rein in and to curb such behavior. I,m not talking about rabbit ears umpires -- I'm talking about idiots who don't know how to act around kids, or in a church league setting, etc. The people that I work for, that my association works for, absolutely expect that sort of behavior to be dealt with.

I am not looking for it, I am not listening for it or seeking it out in any way -- but I can forcefully deal with it in a polite, most of the time discreet way when it happens -- by myself if practical, but by engaging administration if need be

I am not a prude, not particularly religious either -- just a guy w/ enough common sense to not hide behind a rule book that doesn't happen to have an explicit rule covering fart boxes or people screaming "horsesh.t" at 12 year old kids

Rubbish. You hit the key words, parents and administrators.

Behavioral issues off the field are their responsibility, not the umpire's. When you show up to officiate ANY sporting event, you are there for a specific reason and, as mentioned earlier, not to babysit.

I really don't care how you run your life and raise your kids, that is not only your business, but responsibility. The same as it is for every other family out there. You may have a wonderful sets of standards set for your children and if you are successful with getting your children to understand and accepting them, great job. However, that doesn't mean you get to determine how others live.

If you take offense to how things are going, stop the game and tell the coaches to deal with it, but do not use the rule book as your authority, it isn't. For as much as there is nothing in the rule book giving you the authority outside the fence, there is also nothing which requires you to continue a game under unacceptable conditions. Again, let the people whom are responsible for those in question handle it. And, if they refuse, those people you can get rid of.

[CajunNewBlue]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

Some umpires are really touchy about the slightest cuss word.. you'd think the poor lil thangs are gonna melt if they hear it..

I'm on the trailing end of my last kid becoming an adult.. I can assure every umpire, they have heard the word before.

LOL.... whatever.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

Some umpires are really touchy about the slightest cuss word.. you'd think the poor lil thangs are gonna melt if they hear it..

I'm on the trailing end of my last kid becoming an adult.. I can assure every umpire, they have heard the word before.

Hell, it is a requirement in the Philadelphia sports arenas that each parent and grandparent teach their kids the proper etiquette to support their team. It's not hard and most kids pick it up by the time they are 5 years old.

It goes:

_________________________ SUCKS!
(enter opponent's name here)

When they hit their teens, each child is required to take it to the next level to be considered a true Philly sports fan.


That one goes:

_________________________ F***ING SUCKS!
(enter opponent's name here)


Once they get old enough to possibly inherit the family's season tickets, each child must take it to the final level to qualify for the tickets.


The final exam goes:

_________________________ F***ING SUCKS!
(enter opponent's name here)

This is accompanied by a minimum 50' toss of a half-full beer cup in the direction of the field/floor/opposing player.
And you wonder why opposing players don't like Philadelphia fans