Do you officiate other sports?

[JHSump]

Do any of you officiate other sports (football, basketball, volleyball,...)?

Some of my local umpire friends have suggested I branch out into other sports. But I only know baseball well --- been playing, coaching, or umpiring baseball all my life, but never got beyond 1 or 2 kid seasons of anything else, and I have never officiated any other sport.

If you officiate other sports, how does it compare to umpiring baseball?

Do you find other sports harder, easier? Why?

[Umpire in Chief]

I don't do other sports but am considering volleyball at some point. I'll be coaching volleyball this fall.

[csabo17]

Basketball, football, baseball, and wrestling. I go year round. If you know anything about football i highly suggest that. Nothing like the Friday night lights.

[Jocko]

I tried other stuff. I just don't enjoy it. If I call anything else, it's just for the $, and thats not fair to the players or myself. My passion lies between foul poles and fences. I umpire baseball because I LOVE IT! The $ is nice, but not main motivator.

[scrounge]

Football and basketball. Oddly, football is by far my favorite sport to watch but perhaps my least to officiate. The season is so short, by the time I'm in the groove it seems like it's over. I'm only in my 2nd year of it though and not yet on a crew or at the varsity level. As crazy as high school football is here in Ohio, moving up to Friday nights should be a lot more fun.

Basketball is the one sport that I didn't play or coach much, so I thought I wouldn't like it, but I have to say that it rivals baseball in some ways. It's so much quicker and challenging in some aspects, I've really, really taken to it. On top of being a good workout, the demands of "here's your primary area, be ready to instantly call anything and everything in it" is a great contrast to the more set-piece nature of baseball. I love them both but am VERY surprised how much I've enjoyed basketball.

If I didn't have a full-time job, I'd prob add softball and maybe wrestling to the mix, but I'm pushing it with the old lady as it is!

[bam]

I officiate ice hockey and have been since I was 17. I just turned 50 and good hockey is getting just a bit too quick for me, not to mention the fact that these kids are getting bigger and stronger every year.

Hockey is a better, more vigorous workout, which is a plus. But a tired official isn't a better official.

I've never considered football because I don't like it. Same with basketball, in addition to it being really impossible to do well.

I had this discussion the other night with an umpire who also does football. He thinks the rules in football are more difficult to interpret and administer than baseball. I know hockey rules are easier than baseball.

I just plain like baseball weather better.

[LMSANS]

I do baseball, softball & football. I quit wrestling this year. Football & wrestling are very different. I gave up wrestling because I wasn't good enough. I think it is the only sport where a poor official can cause an injured participant.

I wouldn't work any other sports because I didn't play them and don't feel comfortable trying to guess where the action is going.

I like football because I work with a regular crew every week.

Baseball is still king because it is.

[csabo17]

^ agreed about wrestling. I also think its the one sport that if you didnt wrestle or at least be around it quiet a bit theres no way you can just read the rule book and become a good official.

[BT_Blue]

Going into my second season of football. It's fun. Its interesting being near the top of the line in baseball and at the bottom of the rung in football.

[Jocko]

Going into my second season of football. It's fun. Its interesting being near the top of the line in baseball and at the bottom of the rung in football.

"Toot! Toot!"

[Jeff C.]

I call volleyball. It's taken me about 4 yrs. to get comfortable with the sport and to understand the strategies involved. I admit that I was pretty much clueless my first year. I must be doing something right, my assigner keeps giving me tournaments and varsity dates.

[soapbox]

Cricket, Polo, and Curling. By far, Curling is the most instense.

[MPLSMatt]

I do hockey, but just kiddy stuff. Hockey is much less black and white than baseball. Judgement is more important in hockey and it is more of a workout. Baseball is more achademic, you need to study and know the rules well to be a strong umpire.

[BT_Blue]

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Cricket, Polo, and Curling.  By far, Curling is the most instense.<br />

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I enjoyed watching cricket when I was in Australia in the late 90's. Would love to officiate it at well but it rains to often here in Portland that I am not even surenif they play it up here.

[Welpe]

Basketball and football. I did softball once upon a time also. I have been doing baseball the longest, 15 years with a break in between. I have done football for four years and basketball for three.

Baseball is my first love and always will be. I played both baseball and football in high school. I never played basketball much competitively so it has taken me longer to get a feel for the game but I enjoy the speed of the game and how challenging it is to work from a judgment standpoint. The rules of basketball are the easiest of the three sports to learn but it is the most difficult game to officiate in my experience. Football's rules are the most difficult but is second the basketball in terms of challenging to officiate. Baseball is the most black and white of the three sports in terms of juddging concepts like advantage/disadvantage.

I think each sport brings something to the table and doing multiple sports can help round out an official. I know that doing basketball has improved my judgment and football my game management. If I could skate better, I wouldn't mind giving hockey a try. A worthwhile fitness goal I suppose.

[mstaylor]

I did soccer for 20+ years but injured my achilles and can't run to my satisfaction. I started volleyball last year and it is an easy sport to learn the rules, hard sport to actually officiate. Both soccer and volleyball I knew nothing about but picked up quickly.

[csabo17]

A lot of our older football guys have started doing volleyball. They swear by it, saying its the easiest money of all.

[mjr_2013]

I used to do flag football, but stopped when I realized all the other officials that the league hired were arrogant asses.

I will probably pick that up again and possibly basketball for a winter sport when I register with MHSAA next season.

[LMSANS]

A lot of our older football guys have started doing volleyball. They swear by it, saying its the easiest money of all.

Ahh, there's the rub. :meditation:

[LMSANS]

I used to do flag football, but stopped when I realized all the other officials that the league hired were arrogant asses.

I will probably pick that up again and possibly basketball for a winter sport when I register with MHSAA next season.

I submit that it is a job requirement as an official to be an arrogant ass.

[Welpe]

I did soccer for 20+ years but injured my achilles and can't run to my satisfaction. I started volleyball last year and it is an easy sport to learn the rules, hard sport to actually officiate. Both soccer and volleyball I knew nothing about but picked up quickly.

Soccer is another sport I wouldn't mind giving a shot at. I used to really hate soccer but I've actually grown to appreciate it. I want to be in better shape before I consider giving it a shot though.

[CS-Blue]

I actually started officiating with wrestling. I blew out my knee after three tournaments and haven't been back. Baseball doesn't seem to bother my knee at all...even with all the squats behind the plate. Wrestling was a blast, but you have to be in almost as good of shape as the wrestlers to get up and down and roll and all that while watching and making sure one guy doesn't rip the other one's arm off. I agree with others on here that wrestling is a sport that if you don't know what's going on 100 percent of the time, or can't move around well enough, you WILL get someone hurt badly.

[HokieUmp]

I actually started officiating with wrestling. I blew out my knee after three tournaments and haven't been back. Baseball doesn't seem to bother my knee at all...even with all the squats behind the plate. Wrestling was a blast, but you have to be in almost as good of shape as the wrestlers to get up and down and roll and all that while watching and making sure one guy doesn't rip the other one's arm off. I agree with others on here that wrestling is a sport that if you don't know what's going on 100 percent of the time, or can't move around well enough, you WILL get someone hurt badly.

Here I always thought the hardest part of officiating wrestling was knowing when to look away when the heel gets the folding chair.....

[umpire_scott]

I started officiating baseball, softball, football and basketball in Arizona about 12 years ago. I never registered with the high school association out there (AIA), because I was always too busy with school, teaching, and family during the times when the high school games were played to be consistently available. Plus the association I was a member of scheduled for several high schools freshman games, so I was able to do a few of those and then do LL and other leagues at night and on weekends. I've never done high school basketball or football. In basketbalI l've done mostly rec league youth and adult. In football I've done some Pop Warner, flag, and also did a men's semi-pro league in Arizona for one year. To me basketball is by far the most difficult to officiate from the perspective of getting calls right. But it's also the easiest to be well versed on the rules. I like basketball based on the fact that it's indoors and the weather has no bearing on the game. That is what I like the least about baseball/softball is the heat factor.

This year when I moved to Missouri without a teaching job in hand I knew that I would have to get registered with MSHSAA in as many sports as possible. Many fellow officials told me that Volleyball was easy money. I took the test, got registered, and went to a clinic. I turned away every game that was offered to me except one. I just do not understand the flow of the sport well enough to to be a competent official. There are rotations that the players do during the flow of the game that if you don't understand you will not notice a violation. I would suggest for any sport you officiate you must have played that sport to understand how to officiate it. FP softball being the exception, but playing baseball is good enough. If you go into officiating a sport that you've never played I highly suggest taking a year of going and watching games and watching good officials work those games.

[UMP45]

I use to do USVBA( showing my age!). I learned to play in the Army. Played with Hawaiians, Samoans, and Filipinos. To me the hardest part was adjusting of how tight to call hands depending on the level of play.