Recruiting new umpires................

[Stevetheump]

Originally Posted by SethPDX

This is why I thought it was a strange move. In my association I'm one of the younger guys. The veteran umpires are not going to be around forever, so I think you might as well get as many new umpires as you can every year. You need to improve the chances of some of them sticking around.

Well said, Seth. Umpiring is not for everybody. To be a successful ump, you've got to have the right mindset, training and desire. I've been with my current association for 3 years now. Having been in the military, I've had to join a new association every time I went to a new duty station. I was fortunate enough to do both a Men's (FP) Class "B" State tourament ('87) and a Men's (FP) Class "B" National tournament ('88) when I was in New Mexico. But, that was when I was "younger." Now that I'm "older," I know at some point in the near future, I'll hang it up so, I'm looking for the next generation of umpires. We did have one - a 16-year old girl who played FP for many years. She was a "natural." Her first year was great and she was a "jewel" of an umpire. Unfortunately, she was killed in an auto accident last October. Our association is remembering her with a patch that has her initials on it that we'll be wearing when we take the field this year (and for years to come).
It would best serve EVERY association to recruit, recruit, recruit.