A simple yes or no......

[Rich]

I don't get it either. After all, 8U includes girls who turned 9 in January (as my daughter, did). I have girls that are 7, 8, and 9. We go no more than 2 hours away, stay in a hotel room, take over the pool, have some fun family memories.

It isn't all THAT serious. We get umpires, for the most part, that you just have to tolerate. Lots of teenagers working with balloons and no shin guards. And the occasional power-tripping guy, apparently, that hit me when I wasn't looking.

I started the season batting them numerically in the order (from 2 down to 33) and only adjusted the lineups recently. I play all the girls in the infield and outfield. I use 4-5 pitchers (they have to get it to the plate) and 4-5 girls who want to try catching. All girls sit out about the same number of innings.

I'd be happy to umpire the games myself with a coach from the other team on the bases, but that's just not how it's done, here.

(But if you umpired for me, you'd make $100 for a DH or $75 if I hired 2 umpires. Why? Cause I'm an umpire and for those game fees, I'm hiring guys that are not only good umpires, but actually act like they want to be there. BTW, I hire one if I know that one can handle it.)

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Rich

...We get umpires, for the most part, that you just have to tolerate...

So, which is better, umpires you have to tolerate, or games umpired by coaches or dads?

Hiring umpires, especially the kind you describe, for 8U ball does seem like an unnecessary expense.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Dakota

So, which is better, umpires you have to tolerate, or games umpired by coaches or dads?

Hiring umpires, especially the kind you describe, for 8U ball does seem like an unnecessary expense.

We're playing in a league where each town has 1-3 teams. I'd be happy to not hire umpires and do the games myself (and let my assistants coach), but I've been told it's a bad idea.

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.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Rich

...it's amazing how quickly that gets undone by someone who calls nose-high strikes.

So, when you DO umpire games at this level (or even a bit higher level), how many complaints do you get from parents, fans, maybe even coaches, when you DO NOT call nose-high strikes!

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Dakota

So, when you DO umpire games at this level (or even a bit higher level), how many complaints do you get from parents, fans, maybe even coaches, when you DO NOT call nose-high strikes!

I umpire baseball games at this level for Little League. I may widen the zone a bit and use every bit of the knee, etc. but I don't go above the shoulders. Others' mileage may vary.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Rich

I umpire baseball games at this level for Little League. I may widen the zone a bit and use every bit of the knee, etc. but I don't go above the shoulders. Others' mileage may vary.

I wasn't asking about what you did, but what you didn't do that people complained about! Not calling the high "strike" is one of the most common complaints I get at the 12U or so level. Heck, I was watching a colleague umpire an 18U game last weekend where "dad" was loudly bitching because pitches at chin high weren't called strikes! (Maybe he was the pitcher's dad?)

[chapmaja]

Originally Posted by Rich

We're playing in a league where each town has 1-3 teams. I'd be happy to not hire umpires and do the games myself (and let my assistants coach), but I've been told it's a bad idea.

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.

I agree about the nose high strikes. We are repeatedly instructed to increase the size of the strike zone to "move the game along". I disagree with this in the majority of cases because it teaches bad habits. Now will I go an inch on either side of the plate? Yeah, but I'm not calling a pitch 6 inches high, low, inside or outside a strike. By forcing players to swing at pitches way out of the zone you are teaching them bad mechanics. Why? To speed the game along.

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.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by chapmaja

I agree about the nose high strikes. We are repeatedly instructed to increase the size of the strike zone to "move the game along". I disagree with this in the majority of cases because it teaches bad habits. Now will I go an inch on either side of the plate? Yeah, but I'm not calling a pitch 6 inches high, low, inside or outside a strike. By forcing players to swing at pitches way out of the zone you are teaching them bad mechanics. Why? To speed the game along.

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.

For us, there's no point in speeding the game along. In this tourney, it was coach pitch after 4 balls and we had a 75 minute time limit.

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.