What do you take to a National?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Manny A

Why? Do you feel spouses would be a distraction?

I've never seen a situation where a spouse puts pressure on the umpire to not be part of the staff when it comes to meetings, training, etc. And they stay away from the umpire area where crews conduct pregame, receive their postgame critiques, change clothes, etc.

Heck, if I took my wife with me to a National, the only time I'd see her is at the hotel for the evenings. She'd drop me off at the complex first thing, and then spend the day shopping, going to the beach, or taking in whatever attractions the host city has to offer. I'd be lucky if she were back at the park to pick me up afterward.

Spouses, girl/boyfriends, kids, etc. can be a distraction. If they understand (and many kids may not depending upon age and rearing) and completely disassociate themselves from you until the tournament is over, not a problem. I know a couple who do this without issue. She sits there, never includes herself in a conversation or an event unless invited by someone other than her husband. But she has been a tournament director in the past and is well aware of some of the pitfalls. Not all significant others are that understanding and some simply cannot appreciate that you are not there for them, but for the tournament.

State/metro UICs were read the riot act a few years back about umpires being sent and just showing up with "guests". Well, the hosts were not ready to accommodate more people and their budget is often relatively limited for umpires, especially those coming from outside areas. This type of demand and other complaints from umpires drew some pushback from tournaments hosts this past year when UICs were told that there is no requirement for tournaments to feed or provide entertainment or parties for the umpire staff and to stop complaining about it.

Many host organizations do an outstanding job of taking care of the umpires with an amazing amount of food & drink. Others just don't have it in their budget (and not all tournaments make money) and the umpires have to fend for themselves. Problem is that many umpires have apparently started complaining to the hosts which are mostly volunteers. Well, if you have ever volunteered for anything, you know the last thing you want to hear is somebody bitching to you about something over which you have no control or being dressed down by an organization's rep for not doing things a certain way. Anyone who have been involved has seen the number of required "outside" umpires diminish greatly over the past decade which means if you want a national, you may have to pay for it. I would get any qualified umpire a tournament, but would forewarn them they would have to pick-up the travel. Most umpires used to be eager to do that. Today, not so many to the point in our area, they have started taking umpires that haven't even considered a school, let alone attending one which was unheard of a few years back.

It is my personal opinion that when you are given a national assignment, you are there for one thing and one thing only and that is softball and your mind should be on your game and your fellow umpires.

I know the softball world is changing, but as a tournament UIC I can tell you one of your biggest issues can be competing for the attention of an umpire who is being distracted by an outside concern because it can affect that umpire on the field and the game s/he is working.

As I noted, that is JMHO