Crazy Schedule

[Tksjewelry]

It's been in the high 90s to 100 for the last week. 5 a days are a regular routine during the CWS around here, I did 4 Friday, 7 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday and I'm not even a "long slotter". I've tried to keep it to 4 but that really hasn't worked out. I keep a cooler just outside the gate and exchange cooling towels around my neck every half inning, keep frozen water bottles in the cooler, so I always have plenty of cold water to drink, and eat salted bananas between some of the games. I also don't let site directors push to keep on time after a longer game, we take as much time as we need to significantly cool down and change out. I've seen too many guys drop because they were more worried about keeping a 10 hour schedule from getting 15 minutes behind. Some of us have been changing out every game, doing 2 in a row, in the heat of the day under a clear sky with no shade, has taken more than a few down this week and I don't think it's worth it. Plus in this heat, your gear dries pretty quick so your not wearing sweat soaked gear for 4 hours straight.

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[KenBAZ]

Eight in a row was just asking for trouble. I've done it before but you just are in survival mode from the start. I don't really need the money. I just really like to umpire a lot and I prepare all the time to be physically ready. I'm a much better umpire for having done somewhere close to 1,500 games the past three years. Still, the abilities that assigners value most are availability, reliability and compatibility.

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[Hawkman]

On 6/21/2016 at 2:18 PM, MUAump2 said:

Just out of curiosity, but why would you want to work 5 or 6 games in a single day?  Unless for financial reasons, I can't really see a reason to do it.  I don't really care who you are, but there's no way you can be as sharp in the 7th inning of game 6 as you were in the first inning of game 1.  Even if money is the motivator, I would much rather do a legion DH or something than spend 14+ Hours on or enroute to or from a baseball field.  Maybe for me it's the fact that my family doesn't rely on umpiring as significant income, and I just umpire because I enjoy it.  I have done the 6 games in a day on Saturday and Sunday back when I needed to, and it was awful.  Not knocking those that do it, just curious as to your thought process. 

Disclaimer:  these days, I only work 1 or 2 games a day  (3 if assigner is in a pinch) and at max 4 days per week.  I feel like when I was doing so many games in a short period of time, I wasn't enjoying it as much and it felt much more like a job. 

I feel the same way as you but I know guys who work travel tournaments nearly every weekend and do 5 or 6 games on both Saturday and Sunday. I don't know how they can stand it but I guess everyone is different. The most games I've ever done in a day is 4 and that was 2 in the morning then 2 later that same evening. I don't do anything but high school ball now which in Iowa is always a doubleheader. I don't think I would ever do more than two games in a day now; once those doubleheaders are over after 4 or 5 hours I've had enough umpiring for the day. I wouldn't enjoy spending 10-12 hours on a diamond so why do it? If it isn't mostly fun there really isn't any reason for me to be doing it. Other guys evidently do enjoy working all day on the weekends and of course some are motivated by the money. I also generally only work 2 nights a week, occasionally 3 nights. I've found over the years that if I consistently work more than that it becomes a job instead of a hobby that I enjoy. I already have a job, I don't need another one. 

[Mudisfun]

I live by the mantra... Happy Wife, happy life.

Having a 12 and 6 year old I can pull off a weekday game a day or two depending on start times with no issue... weekends I typically limit it to one which causes no issue normally. More than that and it makes it hard on my wife who is a Realtor to do her job since the majority of her activity is of course on weekends. A morning 8-9am start time or a late evening 5pm or later normally works but mid-day? nope. Also kids have stuff going on which requires time to handle or attend.

I love my hobby but not at the expense of family or domestic bliss.