I am just driven to tears...

[azbigdawg]

by the lack of preparation of some umpires for their national tournament. Why the HELL would you not brush up on your mechanics.....especially if you KNEW you would be working a 3-man system the entire tournament....the field is NOT the right place to finally ask for help.

It also AMAZES me that there is such a lack of basic knowledge of positioning for calls, etc....

I may be overgeneralizing....but I finally had to vent after last weekend.... JFC.....

and to top it off, one of my umpires was sent home from his national.... WHY do I do this?

[CajunNewBlue]

Sent home? WTF for?... ok now i need details

[azbigdawg]

Originally Posted by CajunNewBlue

Sent home? WTF for?... ok now i need details

He has the potential to either be a calming influence on a situation, or the proverbial gas can on a small fire.... guess which happened?

[CajunNewBlue]

Originally Posted by azbigdawg

He has the potential to either be a calming influence on a situation, or the proverbial gas can on a small fire.... guess which happened?

You do it because you love it and you find it internally rewarding (and you might be pretty good at it too... don't know, never worked with or for you)... and regardless of all the little things that go wrong just remember all the things that go RIGHT are the ones that truly matter!!!.... hows that for calming?

Ok now gimme details... lol

[DaveASA/FED]

I agree with you. There are a lot of people that don't work 3 person a lot. There are others that don't pay attention that the tourney is a 3 person event....granted these are first timers usually....some people "know" it so why should they review? Those are the worst IMO....but I agree everyone should review review review. And not just read the book actually work some games. Find a diamond, state tournamnet, rec league what ever and work 3 person I know hold on....FOR FREE if you have to in order to get that field time. I know personally I study 3 person EVERY time I think I am going to possibly work it, every year prior to state tournies in case I get one of the final 4 games, every year that I get a national. But I am not real comfortable till I spend some time on the diamond so I react when it happens instead of thinking...ok that was to the right fielder going away from me that is PU's ball to outfield I have to button hook in, heck I even work some high school games for free on nights off to get 3 person field time. Again not many do it, and it shows especially the first few days of 3 person at the National.....I feel your pain...not an answer but to know you aren't alone in your frustration!!

And about one of your umpires getting sent home from a national. Not sure why they are yours, if you are UIC, or what, but I know a lot of us take pride in our state's representation at Nationals and feel like they are "ours" so either way you have to let some things go....there is only so much you can do with umpires. They are like kids, you train them watch them grow and teach them what to and not to do...then you set them free to screw it up on their own. I know it looks negative on you and KILLS you, trust me this year there were a few incidents with a couple of guys that I was not proud to be from the same area as them....but you give as much friendly advice as you can...then it is up to the UIC to decide what has to be done.

And like the rest of us you do it because you love it. Some days are good some days are bad....but as long as the enjoyment still outweighs the frustration you, like the rest of us, will keep doing it!!

[Andy]

Originally Posted by azbigdawg

by the lack of preparation of some umpires for their national tournament. Why the HELL would you not brush up on your mechanics.....especially if you KNEW you would be working a 3-man system the entire tournament....the field is NOT the right place to finally ask for help.

It also AMAZES me that there is such a lack of basic knowledge of positioning for calls, etc....

I may be overgeneralizing....but I finally had to vent after last weekend.... JFC.....

and to top it off, one of my umpires was sent home from his national.... WHY do I do this?

Darrell - Where were you this past weekend that was all 3-man?

As far as the one who was sent home, I'm sure you have already spoken to the powers that be for details. Suffice it to say that the gas can analogy was right on. As for the rest of your group that went to that national, everybody had a good tournament to the best of my knowledge.

As District UIC, you are doing fine...keep it up!

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by azbigdawg

by the lack of preparation of some umpires for their national tournament. Why the HELL would you not brush up on your mechanics.....especially if you KNEW you would be working a 3-man system the entire tournament....the field is NOT the right place to finally ask for help.

It also AMAZES me that there is such a lack of basic knowledge of positioning for calls, etc....

I may be overgeneralizing....but I finally had to vent after last weekend.... JFC.....

and to top it off, one of my umpires was sent home from his national.... WHY do I do this?

I think can answer your question, or at least, parts of it. There are a few factors, some may apply to your area, some not.

First, there are fewer umpires in the ranks and a higher percentage of what we do have are more about the green than the blue. Many of those discount higher levels of training as it isn't necessary for their daily leagues and local tournaments.

State/Metro schools are not what they used to be if they still exist in some areas. Again, some just believe it isn't necessary. Due to this, many relatively new umpires are directed toward National Schools. As anyone who has experienced a good state/metro school and then a NS recently can tell you, it has been dummied down quite a bit to accommodate the inexperienced umpire. After all, it isn't the umpire's fault. In order to make sure the umpires who go to a National School don't lose interest and miss out on important info (like the 3-man), I warn them before they go that some of it is going to seem boring and repetitive, but they need to look beyond that. However, the NS is important and an umpire should not be sent to a National without having attended one. From what I have been told, this problem seemed to have crept into the SP advance camp this year. I understand they want to fill the schools, but for the money being charged, those who are there for serious training shouldn't have to wait on others to catch up.

In some areas, an umpire is nominated/assigned to a National by a District Commissioner (or someone of equivilant authority) and not the UIC. I had a first hand experience with this. I had some real good umpires and I had some that shouldn't have been near a National. Turned out, the state UIC was not even consulted on some of the umpires.

Then there is the umpire that just believes s/he is "owed". That notion is somewhat "old school", but still exists in some areas. I have an umpire who approached me at the beginning of the 2007 season. He works local ASA league games, but basically umpires for whoever. During my tenure, this umpire has never made himself available for State Championship Play. He came to me at the first meeting of his local association, told me he has worked LLWS and PONY and now he figures he can work an ASA National for me. The guy is a decent umpire, so I wouldn't hesitate to give him consideration IF he supported the program. I told him that could happen. He just needs to attend an ASA National School and work some state tournaments and we will see what happens. He acted like I asked for his first born. There may be some who disagree with me, but why would I go out of my way, ignore the standard of requirements applied to everyone else to placate an umpire who hasn't worked one inning of ASA Championship Play? I have not heard a single word, spoken, written or typed, from this individual since that day.

Another reason is over the past decade, the number of available Nationals has nearly doubled due to the institution of the territorial, zone (whatever you want to call them) nationals. That provided some great opportunities to areas that had a hard time finding Nationals for deserving umpires. Unfortunately, it also taxed certain areas with a need for umpires and, in turn, some umpires that are not qualified get the nod.

[NCASAUmp]

I couldn't agree more with both of you here. If you're going to a Nationals, you need to prepare, prepare, prepare! When I was offered a spot at Burlington, I placed one condition on my acceptance: that my boss come out a week or so before the tourney and evaluate me as if I were calling a National. That way, I could catch my mistakes BEFOREHAND. He was happy to do so, and while I haven't gotten my eval from my National yet, I feel confident that my review will be pretty positive (seeing as how the UIC said he'd be happy to have me back).

Now, not everyone has such solid support around them. I consider myself lucky that my boss is willing and flexible to do these things for me. However, there are plenty of materials around that can help umpires prepare themselves, even when opportunities to practice can be limited (such as running a 3-man crew), such as the materials that ASA sells on officialgear.com. Running a 3-man only works when all 3 umpires are familiar with it. Just jumping in there can actually be dangerous for umpires, as it can cause confusion over coverage if one or both of the other umpires are only familiar with a 2-man crew.

[7in60]

Originally Posted by CajunNewBlue

Sent home? WTF for?... ok now i need details

We had this happen a couple weeks ago. An ump was late for a meeting and when the UIC called her on it she got defensive and said she had things to do. She didn't work any more games.

[Steve M]

Darrell,
Continue to send folks. You may find some umpires who burn you, but the vast majority recognize most of what you're giving them and appreciate it. I don't think it's just my ego that sez I'm deserving and just don't get a chance. But, there are those of us who would jump at the chance to work a real national - and even know how to work a 3-man. I've pretty much given up on ASA - because the guy who runs things in Pennsylvania's didstrict 4 does not send people to a national.
I agree with Mike - you take care of those who take care of your needs. At this point, I'm no longer taking care of his needs. For some reason, he only wants to run B level tournaments - I'll go else where & work gold or A or men's majors. So, I'm pretty sure my eastern national with Mike a couple of years ago was my first & last.
Darrell - if & when you become like him, I might just personally come out there & kick you right square is the A$$!

[topper]

Originally Posted by azbigdawg

by the lack of preparation of some umpires for their national tournament. Why the HELL would you not brush up on your mechanics.....especially if you KNEW you would be working a 3-man system the entire tournament....the field is NOT the right place to finally ask for help.

It also AMAZES me that there is such a lack of basic knowledge of positioning for calls, etc....
I may be overgeneralizing....but I finally had to vent after last weekend.... JFC.....

and to top it off, one of my umpires was sent home from his national.... WHY do I do this?

Who sent these people to the national tournament?

Garbage in - Garbage out.

[Az.Ump]

Darrell - if & when you become like him, I might just personally come out there & kick you right square is the A$$!

You might need a ladder

Paul

[SethPDX]

Originally Posted by 7in60

We had this happen a couple weeks ago. An ump was late for a meeting and when the UIC called her on it she got defensive and said she had things to do. She didn't work any more games.

At a tournament? WTH else do you have to do when you're at a tournament besides show up early, listen, and do what they ask of you? Oh well. More games for the good umpires.

[wadeintothem]

You know who you are sending..no one is miracalized to a national. The people described by the OP or by Irish do not need to be there. There is plenty of "work" for the "worker bee" umpire. Nationals are different. If you send an umpire with pre existing issues and those issues come up at Nationals then you do carry some blame.

[azbigdawg]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

You know who you are sending..no one is miracalized to a national. The people described by the OP or by Irish do not need to be there. There is plenty of "work" for the "worker bee" umpire. Nationals are different. If you send an umpire with pre existing issues and those issues come up at Nationals then you do carry some blame.

They may not belong there, but they get there...I spent an entire weekend with several of them....makes life tricky.....