Getting Dressed at the field

[LMSANS]

 

 

Every time you dress in a parking lot you are being disrespected. Enough said.

This is an inaccurate statement.

It is what it is.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

 

Seems pretty accurate to me.

 

Schools provide dressing rooms for football officials and it's an outdoor sport. Seems pretty disrespectful to me that schools don't provide baseball umpires with the same courtesy.

 

Schools provide facilities for visiting teams in football also.  Do visiting baseball teams at the HS level get facilities? not around here.  Is there a 15 - 20 minute break in the middle of a baseball game?  

 

The football argument is comparing apples & oranges.  No other outdoor high school sport gets facilities for the officials.

[MidAmUmp]

 

 

 

Every time you dress in a parking lot you are being disrespected. Enough said.

This is an inaccurate statement.

It is what it is.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

 

Seems pretty accurate to me.

 

Schools provide dressing rooms for football officials and it's an outdoor sport. Seems pretty disrespectful to me that schools don't provide baseball umpires with the same courtesy.

 

Schools provide facilities for visiting teams in football also.  Do visiting baseball teams at the HS level get facilities? not around here.  Is there a 15 - 20 minute break in the middle of a baseball game?  

 

The football argument is comparing apples & oranges.  No other outdoor high school sport gets facilities for the officials.

 

That's bullcrap. I could give less than a damn if they provide dressing rooms for teams or not. My concern is about the officials...and I'll fight for my officials.

 

And with that, I'm out. Again, this should have been shut down a few weeks ago.

[LMSANS]

 

 

 

 

Every time you dress in a parking lot you are being disrespected. Enough said.

This is an inaccurate statement.

It is what it is.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

 

Seems pretty accurate to me.

 

Schools provide dressing rooms for football officials and it's an outdoor sport. Seems pretty disrespectful to me that schools don't provide baseball umpires with the same courtesy.

 

Schools provide facilities for visiting teams in football also.  Do visiting baseball teams at the HS level get facilities? not around here.  Is there a 15 - 20 minute break in the middle of a baseball game?  

 

The football argument is comparing apples & oranges.  No other outdoor high school sport gets facilities for the officials.

 

That's bullcrap. I could give less than a damn if they provide dressing rooms for teams or not. My concern is about the officials...and I'll fight for my officials.

 

And with that, I'm out. Again, this should have been shut down a few weeks ago.

 

What's bullcrap???visiting are provided facilities in football and not any other sport?  Officials are provided facilities in football and not any other sport?

 

I think it's great that you are able to get facilities for your umpires.

 

However, I didn't bring football into the discussion and all I was saying is that there may be a reason that football officials get facilities and no other outdoor sports official does and it probably has very little to do with disrespect.

[MidAmUmp]

Every time you dress in a parking lot you are being disrespected. Enough said.

This is an inaccurate statement.

It is what it is.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

Seems pretty accurate to me.

Schools provide dressing rooms for football officials and it's an outdoor sport. Seems pretty disrespectful to me that schools don't provide baseball umpires with the same courtesy.

Schools provide facilities for visiting teams in football also. Do visiting baseball teams at the HS level get facilities? not around here. Is there a 15 - 20 minute break in the middle of a baseball game?

The football argument is comparing apples & oranges. No other outdoor high school sport gets facilities for the officials.

That's bullcrap. I could give less than a damn if they provide dressing rooms for teams or not. My concern is about the officials...and I'll fight for my officials.

And with that, I'm out. Again, this should have been shut down a few weeks ago.

What's bullcrap???visiting are provided facilities in football and not any other sport? Officials are provided facilities in football and not any other sport?

I think it's great that you are able to get facilities for your umpires.

However, I didn't bring football into the discussion and all I was saying is that there may be a reason that football officials get facilities and no other outdoor sports official does and it probably has very little to do with disrespect.

But I did bring football into the discussion because I brought it into the discussion with the AD's and that was one reason they gave me for providing dressing rooms for umpires...they had never looked at it that way and I opened their eyes...which was disrespectful of baseball umpires in my opinion. And now I'm done again.

[WIUMP]

In Milwaukee, where I coach, an umpire's locker room just isn't feasible. Only one high school in our division has a field close enough to the school to offer this to umpires. Most of our fields are at city or county parks. We're lucky enough to have real bathrooms but a secure place for umpires to change at our school is a 15 min. walk. Many of our conference opponents have a port-a-potty and if they're lucky it hasn't been tipped over. The city football facilities, while not amazing, are all at or near enough to schools to offer team and officials locker rooms.

[Sayhey]

Some of these posts are just a description of the reality of their local situation. We already know the facts. How about a conversation about empowerment and change. Pressure should be put on every A.D. To provide a locker room for umpires. We had a new A.D. At a school and the first game of the year was a problem because the umpire dressing room was locked. The A.D. Told the crew the long standing dressing room was now a coach's room. The umpire told the A.D. If the umpires weren't provided a dressing room that the crew was rolling their bags back to their cars and going home. The door was unlocked within 5 minutes and has remained available. Our assignor backed the umpires up. It's simply unacceptable for umpires to dress in a parking lot. What are we, ignorant hillbillies. It's 2015. Providing a place for umpires to dress isn't asking for much

[Rulekeep]

Providing a place for umpires to dress isn't asking for much

How big do we want this locker room to be?

Let's say 600 square feet-the size of a fairly small apartment. We have one month to construct this locker room, in, say, Florida.

So, let's hire an architect. We also need electrical engineers, HVAC engineers, a plumber, OSHA conforming simple workers, a roofer, a foreman, a building permit, hundreds of hours of labor, a welding team, a city advisor, and heavy machinery mechanics. Now we have a bunch of people standing around a plot with a bunch of paper. They decide we need piping, concrete, metal roofing materials, lights, tile, carpet, lots and lots of plywood, framing, beaming, tools, equipment, scaffolding, an electric route through the building, and of course, the furniture for inside.

Now, after we've spent $200,000 give or take, building this locker room, we have to keep electricity, HVAC, plumbing, water lines, and fire protection up and running for the entire year, not to mention basic maintenance and vandalism repair from the inevitable angry players and community members.

I don't think I need to tell you how quickly that's going to add up.

Yes, it is asking for a lot. A lot of taxes, a lot of donations, a lot of manpower, and a lot of people actually willing to give up that much for this building.

It's not simply a matter of "they don't like us, they could just put in a new locker room if they wanted."

[LMSANS]

No new construction required. For football, or indoor sports, it is the physical education teacher's or coach's office or sometimes the equipment shed by the field.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

[Rulekeep]

No new construction required. For football, or indoor sports, it is the physical education teacher's or coach's office or sometimes the equipment shed by the field.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

In that.case, go to admin and say "we'd like to use the equipment shed for changing to avoid a particularly delicate situation." In my state, they're required to if you explictedly ask.

[bds53]

Providing a place for umpires to dress isn't asking for much

How big do we want this locker room to be?

Let's say 600 square feet-the size of a fairly small apartment. We have one month to construct this locker room, in, say, Florida.

So, let's hire an architect. We also need electrical engineers, HVAC engineers, a plumber, OSHA conforming simple workers, a roofer, a foreman, a building permit, hundreds of hours of labor, a welding team, a city advisor, and heavy machinery mechanics. Now we have a bunch of people standing around a plot with a bunch of paper. They decide we need piping, concrete, metal roofing materials, lights, tile, carpet, lots and lots of plywood, framing, beaming, tools, equipment, scaffolding, an electric route through the building, and of course, the furniture for inside.

Now, after we've spent $200,000 give or take, building this locker room, we have to keep electricity, HVAC, plumbing, water lines, and fire protection up and running for the entire year, not to mention basic maintenance and vandalism repair from the inevitable angry players and community members.

I don't think I need to tell you how quickly that's going to add up.

Yes, it is asking for a lot. A lot of taxes, a lot of donations, a lot of manpower, and a lot of people actually willing to give up that much for this building.

It's not simply a matter of "they don't like us, they could just put in a new locker room if they wanted."

This is quickly becoming absurd! No one said that a school should build a locker room specifically for the officials. The only thing that multiple people have said is to make sure and change in a place that you are protected from being the next person on candid camera! Find a press box, equipment shed, bathroom, port-a-pot, or other enclosed space to change your clothes. Take the necessary steps to protect yourself while in a "vulnerable" state. Geesh, this isn't rocket science here. We are arguing about whether or not it is ok to strip down to your skivvies or get nude in public. I think we can all agree that it's not ok to get naked or all but naked in public! I don't recommend showing up dressed, and I would likely tell my assigner not to put me in that position, but if that is your only option then do it. Case closed.

[bam]

The Mods aren't locking this up because they want to see how absurd it can get.  

[MidAmUmp]

No new construction required. For football, or indoor sports, it is the physical education teacher's or coach's office or sometimes the equipment shed by the field.

Larry Sansevere

sent from my phone

Ding, ding, ding...We have a winner!!!

 

It would be nice as the guy said about his electric car, he only works 20 miles from his house because there is an abundance of ball. If that were the case for all of us, then I'd say show up dressed to work the game. And I understand there are places in the Northeast where the value of property is through the roof so they have the bare minimum as far as facilities around a field.

 

But here in the Midwest, I sometimes have to send umpires over 1 hour to a game. Wearing a uniform to their game isn't reasonable - it's going to get wrinkled in the car and you tend to bring a little undo attention to yourself if you stop somewhere to eat on the way home, which has in the past resulted in confrontations. Also here in the Midwest the weather isn't sunny and 70 every day and I'd prefer my umpires have a warm/dry place to dress...because I've dressed out of my car when it's in the 30's and walked on the field with cold/wet socks because the ground was so wet that it soaked through whatever the hell I was standing on while dressing. I'd like my guys to have the opportunity to stretch before the game instead of going out there and pulling something and having to replace them for a couple weeks.

 

What it comes down to for me is from my own experience - I was trying to be as discrete as humanly possible, backed up to a building, trunk lid open and was changing as quickly as I could...when a jr. high track girl came waking around the corner of the building to get some items out of the track shed and there I am in nothing but underwear as I was starting to put on my undershirt. After that I looked around the parking lot and on every light pole was a security camera. The next day I got on the phone to that school's AD, who happened to be the chairman for the area AD's, explained what happened (more to CYA than anything) and told him we needed a dressing room. He worked with me to get it done and I think with the exception of 1 school that we assign for (who's field is not on campus and are lucky to have 2 dugouts...or enough kids eligible to play each day, for that matter) everywhere we assign has cooperated with us on this. Yes, some places it's a little inconvenient and guys have to dress at the school and drive a block or two to the field, but it works.

[BFP]

Speaking on behalf of Football officials, to say we have locker rooms at every game, may be a bit of stretch. If you want to call cramming  guys into a single coach's office with a one hole shower a locker room.....well OK. 

 

As far as the umpire gig goes, everyone knows what I'm doing out there in the parking lot. I'll be as discreet as possible, but the long and the short of it is, if you don't want to see, don't look.

[MidAmUmp]

Speaking on behalf of Football officials, to say we have locker rooms at every game, may be a bit of stretch. If you want to call cramming  guys into a single coach's office with a one hole shower a locker room.....well OK. 

Sounds quite a bit like...

Oklahoma - tight squeeze for 2 umpires, much less 4. 1 Shower, no toilet.

Wichita State - tight squeeze for 3 umpires. Nasty shower, nasty toilet.

Stephen F. Austin - the back of the trainer's FEMA trailer, closed off by 2 shower curtains. No shower, no toilet.

Missouri - tight squeeze for 4 umpires, but at least they did remodel this past year.

Evansville - dressing around faculty coming in and out. Have a nice photo of a 3"+ long roach on my shoulder from a couple years ago.

 

I could go on and on...

 

The bottom line is you're out of the elements and changing clothes in private. All I was asking for from our area high schools was a roof, a floor, 4 walls, a door and a light.

[scrounge]

Speaking on behalf of Football officials, to say we have locker rooms at every game, may be a bit of stretch. If you want to call cramming  guys into a single coach's office with a one hole shower a locker room.....well OK. 

 

As far as the umpire gig goes, everyone knows what I'm doing out there in the parking lot. I'll be as discreet as possible, but the long and the short of it is, if you don't want to see, don't look.

 

And even then...it's generally just varsity games. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been offered a locker room for jv/fresh/MS games. Unless you count a restroom. I don't.

[bam]

 

Speaking on behalf of Football officials, to say we have locker rooms at every game, may be a bit of stretch. If you want to call cramming  guys into a single coach's office with a one hole shower a locker room.....well OK. 

 

As far as the umpire gig goes, everyone knows what I'm doing out there in the parking lot. I'll be as discreet as possible, but the long and the short of it is, if you don't want to see, don't look.

 

And even then...it's generally just varsity games. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been offered a locker room for jv/fresh/MS games. Unless you count a restroom. I don't.

 

@MidAmUmp does, I guess

[grayhawk]

All I was asking for from our area high schools was a roof, a floor, 4 walls, a door and a light.

Port-a-potty is right over there blue... ;)

[ElkOil]

In this day and age, the age of lawsuits, I'm shocked some of you go down to your skivies in parking lots. Being a female with male partners, I find it extremely awkward, inappropriate, and unprofessional to have someone drop trou in front of me, not to mention the kids and bystanders in the parking lots. Now, I'm Never going to say anything to my partners that do this, I simply turn my back as this isn't my problem to deal with. It always amazes me, though, that the same umpires that talk and talk about being and looking like pros on the field are the first to walk around in the skivies in the parking lot. If you know that you are going to have a lot of situations that involve changing between games or after games, maybe it might be smart to invest in one of those changing screens, they are tax deductible. I show up to every game in my Grey slacks and a white t-shirt. I'm sure I'll get flamed for that prudish standpoint but remember, there are a whole lot of helicopter parents that would take a far more more extreme and actionable view of it.

 

You make some good points in this and other posts on the subject.  Seems to me that if what I've highlighted in your statement is true, this is behavioral issue and not an environmental one.  Expectations should be clear from your association that this is unacceptable and people should be reprimanded appropriately.  But if your characterization is an exaggeration to make your point, I get it, but were this to ever go into a court system, among other factors, the conditions umpires are given and their behavior and intent would be taken into consideration.

[SteveJ]

8 pages of posts.... Now I can't resist.  Around here, in sunny warm southern Arizona, we rarely see a locker room below college level. So we umpires gather together in a distant section of the parking lot and proclaim that area to be our locker room. And unless you bring your motorhome, I don't bring mine because it only gets 8 mpg, you dress behind your vehicle.  I arrive at my games dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and slippers (w/o socks)...I almost forgot to say, I wear under pants (tightie whities) too.  I set my chair up, spread out my carpet, and then hang my pants/shirt on my trunk lid (I have a wire there). Next I prepare my "junk" protection (compression shorts with cup holder). I then drop my shorts, put my cup on, and my pants - this takes about 10 to 15 seconds....I forgot to mention that before I drop my shorts I look around to make sure that no innocent children or women are standing (or sitting) nearby watching me.  Then I continue to dress at a leisurely pace because I always arrive at least 45-minutes before my game.  After the game I reverse the procedure and it takes about the same amount of time...so possible exposure of me in my tightie whities?  About 30 seconds total! So I limit the damage that possibly seeing me in my underwear might have on young minds and women!

[ricka56]

8 pages of posts.... Now I can't resist.  Around here, in sunny warm southern Arizona, we rarely see a locker room below college level. So we umpires gather together in a distant section of the parking lot and proclaim that area to be our locker room. And unless you bring your motorhome, I don't bring mine because it only gets 8 mpg, you dress behind your vehicle.  I arrive at my games dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and slippers (w/o socks)...I almost forgot to say, I wear under pants (tightie whities) too.  I set my chair up, spread out my carpet, and then hang my pants/shirt on my trunk lid (I have a wire there). Next I prepare my "junk" protection (compression shorts with cup holder). I then drop my shorts, put my cup on, and my pants - this takes about 10 to 15 seconds....I forgot to mention that before I drop my shorts I look around to make sure that no innocent children or women are standing (or sitting) nearby watching me.  Then I continue to dress at a leisurely pace because I always arrive at least 45-minutes before my game.  After the game I reverse the procedure and it takes about the same amount of time...so possible exposure of me in my tightie whities?  About 30 seconds total! So I limit the damage that possibly seeing me in my underwear might have on young minds and women!

 

So what? Everyone knows that this is the norm but responsible people want it changed. Are you saying that others should just suck it up and accept this? If you're not making that point, what is your point  ?

[Iowa Ump]

my solution to getting dressed at the field is to wear a pair of really light and really short running shorts, over my compresions and under my slacks. plus having another waistband (running short) keeps my shirt tucked in.

it works great.

when i show up to the field i have my undershirt on compression's, and running shorts on. seamless

[SteveJ]

 

8 pages of posts.... Now I can't resist.  Around here, in sunny warm southern Arizona, we rarely see a locker room below college level. So we umpires gather together in a distant section of the parking lot and proclaim that area to be our locker room. And unless you bring your motorhome, I don't bring mine because it only gets 8 mpg, you dress behind your vehicle.  I arrive at my games dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and slippers (w/o socks)...I almost forgot to say, I wear under pants (tightie whities) too.  I set my chair up, spread out my carpet, and then hang my pants/shirt on my trunk lid (I have a wire there). Next I prepare my "junk" protection (compression shorts with cup holder). I then drop my shorts, put my cup on, and my pants - this takes about 10 to 15 seconds....I forgot to mention that before I drop my shorts I look around to make sure that no innocent children or women are standing (or sitting) nearby watching me.  Then I continue to dress at a leisurely pace because I always arrive at least 45-minutes before my game.  After the game I reverse the procedure and it takes about the same amount of time...so possible exposure of me in my tightie whities?  About 30 seconds total! So I limit the damage that possibly seeing me in my underwear might have on young minds and women!

 

So what? Everyone knows that this is the norm but responsible people want it changed. Are you saying that others should just suck it up and accept this? If you're not making that point, what is your point  ?

 

Like most of the comments related to this post there is no point!  I wasn't trying to make one so my post accomplished what I wanted it to...good for me!  

 

So, how do you propose that "it" should be changed? Maybe "force" the schools and other venues to build umpire dressing rooms - maybe with showers huh?  I can see every school and county/city field being willing to spend tax money to do that. 

 

Since you are a "responsible" person (and I'm not), maybe you should refuse to work games at venues that do not provide you a room to dress in - problem solved! BUT if you chose to work games in venues that do not offer you a room to change then you should, as you said, "suck it up and accept this". 

 

Sure I like the way I am treated at a college venue where locker rooms are provided, bathroom, showers, towels, soap, tv to watch, comfortable furniture to sit on, ac/heat, something to drink, and maybe some snacks a heck of a lot better than how I am treated at some high schools or city ball parks - Now here comes the point I'm making with this posting....... Ready for it?   Here it comes....... No one is forcing you to accept games in the venues with conditions which are undesirable to you.

[Majordave]

Aaaaand, that about wraps this one up.  Been a good run. Lots of emotionally charged posts and opinions.  In summary, do what works for you.  Do NOT prance around in your skivvies or heaven forbid, Naked like some guys I know.  (Sometimes self included).  UNLESS you want problems later.  Also, push and ask for dressing facilities at venues you work but don't expect them to accommodate your request.  

 

Have great games.  Professional baseball pitchers and catchers report in FIVE DAYS!!!!!  College baseball and some warm weather high school and travel ball has already begun (or never stopped.)  Get out there and get some outs!

 

Locking it up here boss!