What do you take to a National?
 

Ok we haven't gotten this started this year, so here it is. What do you take to a national with you. Conversation with derwil made me start thinking of "my list" and how many of each item I take (most of which I never use, just ask my wife). But last year was the first time I had to fly to a national so it really made me place a priority on items that I took...before I had the vehicle packed full of everything, kitchen sink was left at home so suitcase could fit in but anything that related to umpiring was there.

So anyway what all do you take with you to a National Championship Tournament? And give numbers of items like hats, shirts, and pants just for completeness.

Mouthwash

Everything I have. :D

At my last SP National, I brought 6 pairs of pants, 6 powder blue shirts, 5 white ASA Under Armour Heat Gear shirts, 5 indicators, 5 brushes, 3 line-up card holders, 3 hats, 2 belts, 3 pairs of shoes, 6 pairs of socks, 5 or 6 pairs of compression shorts, and 2 cups. I also bring anything I need to maintain all of that: scrub brush and soap for the hat and plenty of shoe polish.

And my house was only an hour away.

I'm prepared. Always. I'm ready to completely change out my uniform at a moment's notice so that I never miss a beat.

for bad calls or bad breath? :p

Deoderant and baby powder. One of my first SB tournaments was a rea scoarcer and I had the monkey butt for a week. Got home and wife told me that I had a noticable, pungent aroma (I believe she said "Holy crap you stink!") Now I got extras to keep the peace and keep comfortable.

5 Indicators !?!?!?!
 

Holy crap. :eek: I don't own that many indicators I don't think. How could you possibly need 5 indicators in one week? You do know they feed you real food at these nationals don't you? :)

Ouch!
 

After getting "monkey butt" once most never get it again. I use only vaseline. Sounds gross but it works better than anything I've ever used.

As for what to take to a National...EVERYTHING YOU OWN!!!

I'd take my jacket, a sweater if I have it...everything.

And if you're not familiar with it and will be calling in the heat take Spirits of Amonia, a small ice chest and some towels. This stuff can be a real life saver in the heat. Of course if you're asthmatic don't use it.

Thanks for reminding me. I'm down to 4. One broke a few weeks ago. ;)

Actually, one indicator is one I'll never use. It's my dad's old indicator from when he used to call ball with me. I keep it in my bag just to remind me where I'm from.

The other 4 were two indicators with the old white dials, which were replaced by two indicators with the optic yellow dials.

Lets see....I just bought some new gear specifically for my national this year, so I will take:

6 ASA Powder Blue Shirts
1 ASA Navy shirt (have been told these will not be required, but just in case)
4 pair Feccheimer Heather Grey plate pants
4 pair Feccheimer Heather Grey base pants
4 ASA caps (2 brand new, 2 slightly used)
5 Under-Armour type undershirts
4 pair compression shorts
2 pair compression tights
10 pair white tube socks
10 pair black tube socks
All of my plate gear and accessories ( I only have three indicators..)

I am driving to my national this year...After I pack the SUV, I think there will be just enough room for my wife to go with me....

Actually, Gold Bond Medicated powder is a very good solution.
On your break, take a field shower and change the tighty-whities.

On a slightly different note, in between games you should elevate your feet to get the blood out of them. In just 10 minutes, you will feel the difference and your next game will be much easier.

And, advice that was given to me by a UIC at Nationals is to take your mask off frequently; between batters, after foul balls and other short delays between pitches. Even if it only for 10-20 seconds, it provides for evaporation and reduces heat build-up on your face.

A new item that I keep in my ball bag is a powder blue ShamWOW. Not only does it allow for wiping perspiration on arms, face and neck, but I also wipe down the padding on the mask and the sweatband of my hat. The ShamWOW pulls the moisture out of the paddings making it feel much better throughout the games.

I am, and I do. I have never had problems as a result.

I can't comment on what to believe because I have only done basketball (boys' and girls') and boys' baseball at the national level, BUT, I can give you this one piece of advice if you are working a girls' game:

MAKE SURE YOUR ZIPPER IS PULLED UP BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE DRESSING ROOM!

And enjoy yourself.

MTD, Sr.

:D Voice of experience?:eek:

I have more shirts if you need them. (Seriously)

Wish I could drive this year....but it's WAY, too far (2,146 miles is all) for me to drive. But my wife (and daughter and her boyfriend(my daughters boyfriend not my wife's.. I'm making that guy stay at home)) is flying with me this year too. They should enjoy the area while I'm working!!!

Where are you headed, Dave?

Apologies if you have already mentioned on another thread...I just don't recall.

Same place you are

OK, Then....make sure that you introduce yourself.....

I will be the tall, bald, white guy....

This list might be a bit short, but so far:
sun screen
4 ASA Powder Blue Shirts (2 for plate, 2 for bases)
- working on more
several white tee shirts
2 pair ASA Heather Grey plate pants
2 pair ASA Heather Grey base pants
2 of each pants non-ASA
2 ump belts, 1 regular
6 ASA caps (3 plate, 3 bases)
12 pair black/blue tube socks

Plate gear with 2 lineup hldrs, 3 -4 indic, 3 brushes, etc.
Ball bags - 2 grey, 1 navy w/ASA
sun screen
3 supporters, 3 cups, 1 comp shorts
3 pr plate shoes (1 pr emerg only)
3 pr base shoes (1 pr emerg only)

sun screen
normal personal items & clothes
small cooler plus a 2 cases each of Gatorade, water, snacks
laundry detergent

2 ASA Navy Shirts (1 for plate, 1 for bases) just in case

I'll be at Salem, VA Girls 10-12, 16 & 23U A FP Eastern National

I hope they let you call at Botetourt. That field is softball heaven. Took my breath away when I first saw it.

Glad to see you got your breath back, but why?

The mountains rise up and look like they're almost within your reach, and the parking lot around the complex is set below the fields so you don't see any cars.

An absolutely beautiful and perfectly-maintained complex.

Waxing philisophically, it is not what you bring to Nationals that counts, it is what you bring back.:cool:

Wow...hope you don't get sunburned.........

If you are going to Chattanooga, you may want to bring extra uniforms and some No-Doz

Ron Ronaganda just announced during a press box interview today that he was just told there will be at least 172 teams at the 16Us.

That is a pretty decent size tournament for a National.

89 teams registered for 12U. We will be getting the 16Us next year...sounds like fun!!

Cecil,

I will see you next week in salem.

Ronald

At least 172 teams? That's awesome! Wish I could be there to watch...

Softball, softball, all around you! :)

Baby rash ointment used from from day/game 1 is the best IMO. As for the national the best thing I found to bring was a map to the local fluff and fold.

Bump!:)

Well, I would take my uniforms if I had any. Went to pick them up at the cleaners this morning and they "cant find" any of my pants.

That is the LAST thing that I would take to a national and I mean it would never happen. I would also discourage umpires who are assigned to a tournament from taking anyone with them. JMHO

I would offer to lend you mind..... but there is a small size difference...

Let's see....when my wife found out that I was selected for a National in San Diego, her exact words were....

"There is no way you are going to San Diego without me."

Didn't leave me a lot of negotiating room.....

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. :D

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

The laundry found my pants, so I guess I have uniforms to take to nationals now.

But are they the same size ? :)

Regarding spouses at events.....
I have see it both ways....
Some spouses come along, but you never see them except maybe at an informal get together for dinner after the games.

On the other hand there are the ones that come along and feel free to come up to the umpire area, even bring their kids.. in fact one left het kid up there (after all, it was airconditioned)

It's pretty hard to have a pre or postgame conference with some loudmouth spouse interrupting and joining in...

That's funny Andy, my wife said the EXACT same thing!! And so did my daughter, and she drug her boyfriend along too.

But as Irish said, I do see some issues at Nationals with this. It takes a certain type of family (spouse, kids etc) to make it work. In San Diego we rented a car, one that I saw to and from the fields (some days) and that was about it they (wife daughter and my soon to be son in law) took it and had a great week sight seeing and I spent my time at the park. It worked perfect, no issues at all.

This past week there was an umpire whose wife was with him at a National, never saw her except sitting in her chair watching his games (ok she had a book on her lap a couple times, but she looked like she was watching). As a matter of fact Saturday night at the awards get together and final day assignement meeting she was sitting outside in their vehicle, well till the UIC saw her anyway.

But I do know what you are saying there are and have been issues at many Nationals, heck even just state level events with spouses being where they should not be, and causing general awkwardness. SO I guess I wouldn't be such an absolute as you were in the no spouses / family cause bottom line any of us with a significant others couldn't do what we do if they aren't supportive of us, but I will say the family has to "get it" and clearly understand the time they will and the time they will not get to be involved in their umpires tournament experience.