Hobbies in the off season

[Rulekeep]

To help this along back onto topic, my winter hobbies include giving coaches dirty looks in the store, failing my classes, making half-assed videos that get over 30,500 hits on YouTube, massively underachieving, and writing bad speeches about feminism and umpiring to give at various Forensics tournaments around Southeast Alaska.

[JaxRolo]

 

 

 

 But it's not about the money.......right?

 

Maybe it is......a little. But you're on here talking about doing an 18u tourney this weekend and I'm 3+ months from seeing a baseball diamond and when I do, the first 3-4 weeks will be 40 degrees and wet if they're not cancelled completely. Last year I didn't get on a field until April and that was hit and miss. I'm hating winter more every year. 

 

:violin:

[Hawkman]

I refereed basketball for about 12 years in the winter but hung up the whistle after the 2012-13 season. My baseball season is pretty short; I don't work any youth leagues or tournaments anymore and haven't for years (too much BS and I don't care to work 5 or 6 games on a Saturday and Sunday). All I work is HS ball so here in Iowa that means a season that lasts from about the 3rd week of May until the middle of July. All HS dates are doubleheaders in Iowa so I generally work about 30 games or so during the HS season which is plenty for me. By the time mid July rolls around I'm ready to put the gear away and do other things. I've walked away from it a few times primarily because I was taking far too many games and it just wasn't fun anymore. I cut back over time to a level that keeps me, although not necessarily some assigners, pretty happy. This year I've decided to no longer work any varsity stuff, just going to do the lower key JV games and stay fairly local. The days of driving an hour each way to work a varsity doubleheader when I have to get up for work at 5:30 in the morning are over for me.

 

I love to fish and I also play harmonica and sing in a blues/rock band. Still have one kid left at home who is a junior in HS and a football player so I go to his games in the fall. I'm an avid weight lifter and like to stay active with that too, which would be tough if I worked a longer baseball season. Lots of things to experience in life, I try to fit in as much as I can. 

[MadMax]

I've had to overhaul my career, so most of my "free time" is devoted to that end.

Otherwise, what time and energy that I would, when Wisconsin isn't engrossed in Winter (with a capital W for a reason) put towards umpiring as many baseball games as possible, is put to being a snowboard instructor, playing indoor soccer, and gradually relearning how to skate so I could potentially be a hockey official. Entrepreneurship takes _alot_ of work.