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We did a ton of fundraising and received a number of sponsorships, so whether I hire a HS kid for $30/game or a top umpire for $50/game isn't a big deal. It's a bigger deal that I get umpires that don't call strikes over my kids' heads. Working really hard for them to swing at good pitches and it's amazing how quickly that gets undone by someone who calls nose-high strikes. :) |
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My understanding in this situation is that one of two things should happen. When the BU in the C position has a call like this at first he can either 1) make the call the best he can (most likely going to be safe if he can't see an out) and then call time and ask the PU if he saw anything different or 2) make the call the best he can and then wait for the defensive coach to possibly come out and ask for him to check with his partner to see if the PU had anything different. The one thing you never do is yell across the infield Bad Angle, Didn't See it, I don't know, or anything like that. Also, umpire to umpire communications across the diamond should be limited to signals and not verbal communications (in regards to calls). These include appeals on a checked swing (safe or out signal) or infield fly on or off signal. The only time verbal communication should be used across the infield is when there is an alteration to a normal position procedure (Going out, I've got third, ect). |
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The worst one though was the "if you say anything else, your out of here" type comment. The good news, he followed through with his threat. The bad news is you have now forced yourself into a corner as an umpire, because even if the coach says "ok" you need to toss them. I have never seen an umpire get removed from an event in softball, but I've seen a couple instances in volleyball where officials have nearly been sent home (and in my opinion should have been). One was a varsity event where the officials was making all the calls, even though most of them were not his call to make. He was also very rude to the coaches when they attempted to question calls. Finally he was very rude to the event manager when his officiating was brought up. Thankfully they changed the schedule so he was not working the gold bracket matches in the afternoon. (Funny about that he said he wanted to start doing college matches, one of the parents of a team he screwed over on a call is a national level official (worked NCAA post-season play) and is the volleyball trainer for USAV. That ended any plans he had of advancing to college ball anytime soon. The second issue was an official who was yelling at a coach to the point of making her cry at a tourney. It was a season opening event and was freshman volleyball. She was a new coach (college graduate last year) and made a couple coaching mistakes. Instead of talking to her about the issues in a professional manner, and calling the issues by the book, he started berating her in front of the teams, fans and other coaches. Several of us who witnessed this wanted him removed, but the school AD refused. This is the only time I have ever been in favor of removing an official in an event. The first official I mentioned from volleyball was removed from my assigning list for a sport I assign, swimming. I observed him at a meet that he showed up late to, and had no clue what he was doing. It was so bad I thought he was going to toss the visiting coach from the meet for questioning his starting procedures. (You can't start backstroke from the pool deck). This visiting coach is one of the most mild mannered coaches I have worked with, and never has he said anything to anyone that would warrant an ejection, but he was close at this SWIM MEET (I've heard of three ejections from swim meets in my life, and one was for a swimmer violating a rule repeatedly-jewelry). |
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I think a lot of leagues need to look at the reason they have 8U and up softball. Is it to be competitive, or is it to teach the skills so the players can play at a higher level in the future. |
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I think it's possible to do both. We play the games because the girls love it. Even when they lose, it's forgotten minutes later. But you can't simply practice all the time - kids get bored with drill after drill after drill. |
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1) If I have a replacement immediately available, he sits. At least until we have a conversation that leads me to believe he understands that is unacceptable. 2) If I have no immediately available replacement, he finishes the day. Still going to try to have that conversation between games; if not possible, before he leaves. If not then, before he ever gets the chance to work another day. 3) If he doesn't get it, he doesn't work again. Period. 4) If the TD (my customer) wants him gone regardless the result of the conversation, the customer is always right. We are in a customer service job. I use the following comparison when umpires question how much power the TD or coaches have, or should have: If you walk into the local Waffle House/Huddle House/IHOP/Applebees/etc, where you have been before, are greeted by the hostess, and you tell the hostess there is a specific server you have had before, and wish to sit at ANY OTHER area, what would you do, as a paying customer, if that hostess told you that you had to sit in that server's area, just because it was his/her turn, or their policy? Would you even pause to ask to speak to the manager first, or would you simply get up and go to another restaurant? That's pretty much the relationship umpire associations or UIC's have with the TD's. There's always someone else they can use if your service isn't customer friendly. I'm NOT saying bend over, I'm saying that customer service is a necessary part of what we do; the customer has to be really out of line to not be the primary concern. The very nature of officiating is inherently adverserial; we have to sell our customer service despite that automatic bias. We certainly need to support our umpires in their calls, following the rules, etc; but how they deal with the customer makes or breaks their ability to be effective. |
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8U needs coaches, not umpires. They do not need the BS that goes with competition at that age whether you think it is good ball or not. Look at all the drama in this simple case, whether from a lousy or power-tripping umpire or the coaches and/or parents. It is and always has been my opinion that at that age, the priority should be instruction, not competition. I'm glad that Rich's team doesn't take it that serious, but that is some really serious money and I'm willing to bet there is a parent to two already getting their pens out to endorse an NLI :) |
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Too bad for them I don't really give a flying you-know-what what they think. :D |
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