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Volunteer UIC survey help...


Mudisfun
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I need the input of the umpires in this community...

Last season I was pulled back in to the UIC gig for my kids LL program when my replacement quit in the middle of the season. At the request of the BOD I stepped back into the role to complete the season and then decided to stay on for the 2017/2018 BOD term... As many of you know LL really is into volunteering and pretty much wants all of the program to be ran along those lines. The issue I ran into last season was finding volunteers to officiate and this coming season I bet it will continue to be more and more difficult... it did not help that my replacement/quitter failed to do any recruiting at all which left quite a whole to fill in the middle of the season.

So the reason for this post... I am putting together a survey monkey for the (GASP!) Managers, Coaches and Umpires to fill out seeking their input on the umpire program within our league. Considering that the families within the league actually are the league I would like to get a feel for what the pulse within the organization currently is before proposing to the BOD how we handle the umpire duties next season. So far the questions I have come up with are:

1) Besides out league how many other organizations do you volunteer for?

2) During the 2017 season were you a manager, coach, umpire or other volunteer such as BOD member, score keeper, team parent etc?

3) What about the 2017 umpire program did you like?

4) What about the 2017 umpire program did you dislike?

5) If you could make changes to the 2018 umpire program what would you change?

6) From your perspective as a coach/manager/umpire how would you rate the 2017 umpire season with 1 being worse and 5 being excellent? (there are 5 stars for them to pick).

7) For the 2018 season I would like to see the following form of umpire program: A) 100% volunteer from the families comprising the league and district, B) 100% outsourced at a cost of $X for a solo umpire or $XX for two umpires. Fee for the umpires to be borne and paid by the respective teams, C) Mainly volunteer but outsourced to an assignor when required (fee's to be borne by the assigned teams), D) Mainly outsourced with the fees to be borne by the teams however utilizing volunteer umpires when available and willing.

8) Assuming umpire duties remain mainly in-house: What do you suggest as a means for recruiting and retaining volunteer umpires? A) fewer required assigned games, B) additional opportunities to work with certified and staff umpires (on the field training opportunities), C) Additional off season training opportunities (reduce the time crunch for training at the start of the season), D) Allow volunteers to self assign versus UIC assign or E) Other - respondent open field for their own idea.

 

So basically... I am looking for a couple differing inputs: 1) do you think the questions above will solicit actionable information, 2) any additional questions you think I should be asking and if so, what are they and 3) any questions I have already come up with you think should not be there?

 

Keeping in mind that this is for a local Little League... Thank you all in advance for your advice. I truly respect your input and points of view.

 

 

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I need the input of the umpires in this community...
Last season I was pulled back in to the UIC gig for my kids LL program when my replacement quit in the middle of the season. At the request of the BOD I stepped back into the role to complete the season and then decided to stay on for the 2017/2018 BOD term... As many of you know LL really is into volunteering and pretty much wants all of the program to be ran along those lines. The issue I ran into last season was finding volunteers to officiate and this coming season I bet it will continue to be more and more difficult... it did not help that my replacement/quitter failed to do any recruiting at all which left quite a whole to fill in the middle of the season.
So the reason for this post... I am putting together a survey monkey for the (GASP!) Managers, Coaches and Umpires to fill out seeking their input on the umpire program within our league. Considering that the families within the league actually are the league I would like to get a feel for what the pulse within the organization currently is before proposing to the BOD how we handle the umpire duties next season. So far the questions I have come up with are:
1) Besides out league how many other organizations do you volunteer for?
2) During the 2017 season were you a manager, coach, umpire or other volunteer such as BOD member, score keeper, team parent etc?
3) What about the 2017 umpire program did you like?
4) What about the 2017 umpire program did you dislike?
5) If you could make changes to the 2018 umpire program what would you change?
6) From your perspective as a coach/manager/umpire how would you rate the 2017 umpire season with 1 being worse and 5 being excellent? (there are 5 stars for them to pick).
7) For the 2018 season I would like to see the following form of umpire program: A) 100% volunteer from the families comprising the league and district, B) 100% outsourced at a cost of $X for a solo umpire or $XX for two umpires. Fee for the umpires to be borne and paid by the respective teams, C) Mainly volunteer but outsourced to an assignor when required (fee's to be borne by the assigned teams), D) Mainly outsourced with the fees to be borne by the teams however utilizing volunteer umpires when available and willing.
8) Assuming umpire duties remain mainly in-house: What do you suggest as a means for recruiting and retaining volunteer umpires? A) fewer required assigned games, B) additional opportunities to work with certified and staff umpires (on the field training opportunities), C) Additional off season training opportunities (reduce the time crunch for training at the start of the season), D) Allow volunteers to self assign versus UIC assign or E) Other - respondent open field for their own idea.
 
So basically... I am looking for a couple differing inputs: 1) do you think the questions above will solicit actionable information, 2) any additional questions you think I should be asking and if so, what are they and 3) any questions I have already come up with you think should not be there?
 
Keeping in mind that this is for a local Little League... Thank you all in advance for your advice. I truly respect your input and points of view.
 
 

First of you need the chairman of the league that you are associated with to have your back in situations involving all league matters. Not a person who is two faced. Also the chairman as a non coach. The league that I was associated with, the chairman just disrespected the umpires. He got ejected and threatened that the umpire will never do a game in the league again. All the umpires took a stand and formed a protest at his next game. The league is now on life support with possible LL charter being removed. Also the volunteers need to have room to do their own thing, not being constantly micro managed and throw under the bus.


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26 minutes ago, MRG9999 said:


First of you need the chairman of the league that you are associated with to have your back in situations involving all league matters. Not a person who is two faced. Also the chairman as a non coach. The league that I was associated with, the chairman just disrespected the umpires. He got ejected and threatened that the umpire will never do a game in the league again. All the umpires took a stand and formed a protest at his next game. The league is now on life support with possible LL charter being removed. Also the volunteers need to have room to do their own thing, not being constantly micro managed and throw under the bus.


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Thank you for the response. Thankfully in our LL the UIC is also an Executive Board member so for all of the season including the off season we meet and work as a team on all league specific issues which means I have yet to encounter an issue where there was no backing although your point is 100% spot on. Also our current president (former HS Varsity BB Coach and current Middle School Principal) understands the purpose of LL baseball and even though he would like to coach he chose not to last season due to the time commitment just to be the El Jeffe. 

 The issue the other guy I replaced had was not understanding that discussions in April during the middle of the season are for NEXT year and not to be implemented without the BOD being on board... he sent out new directives which would have disciplined Managers without approval and when the BOD yanked those directives back he cried 'the board does not support me' which of course was not true. He basically dug that hole himself which was sad... he actually was trying some cool new approaches which crashed and burned with his lack of understanding how a BOD works.

 

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Thank you for the response. Thankfully in our LL the UIC is also an Executive Board member so for all of the season including the off season we meet and work as a team on all league specific issues which means I have yet to encounter an issue where there was no backing although your point is 100% spot on. Also our current president (former HS Varsity BB Coach and current Middle School Principal) understands the purpose of LL baseball and even though he would like to coach he chose not to last season due to the time commitment just to be the El Jeffe. 
 The issue the other guy I replaced had was not understanding that discussions in April during the middle of the season are for NEXT year and not to be implemented without the BOD being on board... he sent out new directives which would have disciplined Managers without approval and when the BOD yanked those directives back he cried 'the board does not support me' which of course was not true. He basically dug that hole himself which was sad... he actually was trying some cool new approaches which crashed and burned with his lack of understanding how a BOD works.
 

Our UIC Is also Exec board member. Still he $hit canned the UIC and replaced him with one of his do as I say people. He also tossed me as Safety Officer for forming a Colt team. League did not cover that age before. Sadly no one wants to be associated with him.


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Just now, MRG9999 said:


Our UIC Is also Exec board member. Still he $hit canned the UIC and replaced him with one of his do as I say people. He also tossed me as Safety Officer for forming a Colt team. League did not cover that age before. Sadly no one wants to be associated with him.


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Sad that the adults don't keep LL in perspective... I don't go and introduce myself as the league UIC... heck I normally won't even wear the BOD shirt around the field unless I have the BOD on duty gig that afternoon... then that just makes it visible that someone is there. I am not looking for accolades when it comes to volunteering but just want the kids to have a fun and safe experience. It is not about me, it should not be about the Pres or any of the other members.

Just sad.

 

 

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Sad that the adults don't keep LL in perspective... I don't go and introduce myself as the league UIC... heck I normally won't even wear the BOD shirt around the field unless I have the BOD on duty gig that afternoon... then that just makes it visible that someone is there. I am not looking for accolades when it comes to volunteering but just want the kids to have a fun and safe experience. It is not about me, it should not be about the Pres or any of the other members.
Just sad.
 
 

Best part of it he got his a$$ tossed in two tournaments Guess who was doing the games, his former UIC in one tournament and his former safety officer in the other tournament. Both tournaments had a rule that if you were ejected you were out for the remainder of the tournament. We both had drinks to celebrate.


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Stay away from bad leagues.   Never had a problem with either one I've been involved with.

Mud, do you have a junior umpire program?  Granted, you got to pay the kids too, but at least you can keep it Little League focused and in the spirit of developing young citizens.

 

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I'm not sure it matters much if the managers or parents think it's a good idea in theory to have paid or volunteer umpires.  It's much more relevant to ask, in my humble opinion, would you be willing to volunteer for a game?  And, Would you be willing to pay for an umpire?

 

  

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13 hours ago, basejester said:

I'm not sure it matters much if the managers or parents think it's a good idea in theory to have paid or volunteer umpires.  It's much more relevant to ask, in my humble opinion, would you be willing to volunteer for a game?  And, Would you be willing to pay for an umpire?

 

  

I agree and actually desire the program to be volunteer with utilizing paid guys only when absolutely needed. However getting the volunteers and making sure they actually work the assigned games is placed on the managers since they have the day to day direct contact with the members of their teams. If the body politic as a whole would prefer not to volunteer but understand the costs to the parents up front that may change their desire to help out or not.

 

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First, we don't use umpires for anything under minors. A couple years ago, we started having coaches umpire games. In our minor division, we have 6 teams with 2-3 coaches per team. There are roughly 50 games per season, so each team is responsible for providing the PU for 8-9 games. There are a couple major coaches who work the minors games as a way of scouting talent. We pull a parent in to work the bases. Coaches don't work their own games. 

For majors we also use coaches, but each team has to provide a PU or BU for games. We have a couple guys from our District who work a couple games as well. 

The UIC creates a schedule at the beginning of the season and we work off of that. We also have a brief clinic at the beginning of the season run by a couple of District umpires. 

Is it the best system, no. But we've discovered that we do no worse than most of the guys we pay from an assigner. And our coaches develop a great deal of respect for the umpires. I had one coach say that before we forced him to work behind the plate, he would be screaming about missed plays and bad calls. After working his first game, he couldn't believe how many calls he missed or blew. Now, he restricts his complaining to really obvious calls and is much calmer during the game. He's also started working on teaching his kids the rules. One of his kids noticed that an opposing player was using a big barrell, of course, the paid umpires, didn't know the rules and let him complete his at bat before removing the bat. (no other penalty) 

You'll probably get some kick back from the coaches, but I think it's well worth it. 

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Regarding your proposed survey, I think you will need to make it simpler. You'll get more responses with fewer questions. Also, your data won't be so spread out. You can ask fewer questions with limited options to answer and solicit comments at the end. Good luck, it's noble and mostly unrecognized work you're doing.

 

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