Maybe this is part of the problem? (recent NASO advertisement...)

[SeeingEyeDog]

Pardon me for speaking for more than myself and feel free to correct me, brothers...

No. We DO care about all of those things that have, are and will happen to us. AND...we do it because we love it, it's a passion. AND no, there is something better. Amateur sports officiating and umpiring without all those things that the NASO claims we don't care about.

~Dawg 

[MadMax]

I just got this mailing too. 

The “pay to play (umpire)” bullish!t has to end. NASO enrollment, and other similar resources, should be complementary and funded / underwritten by the baseball organizations that need – not “request”, not “could use” – us to officiate their games. NASO admits it right up front! We “don’t get paid enough”… well, it certainly gets exacerbated when we have to pay for NASO representation! And insurance! And training! And resource materials! And uniforms (here’s the rotten, festering source of the navy vs. anything else argument; if you (Ohio, Michigan, etc.) are going to stipulate / require your umpires to wear a particular uniform, then you should provide it. Period!)!

Yeah, a substantial number of officials are aging out. Yeah, they’re not being replaced by new recruits. Part of the blame falls on the latest generation’s culture (and aversion to work, ahem), but an equal part falls on the existing officiating structure, and the daunting costs that confront a new official. 

Perfection only comes through practice; practice is only achieved through participation. We must reduce the price for participation, otherwise it just becomes a prohibitive obstacle. 

[JonnyCat]

What was NASO thinking? Who was the F*#King moron who wrote that?

I sure as hell give a F*#K about the abuse.

[boyinr]

This might just be the single worst message of “support” I’ve read. 

[The Man in Blue]

You are not paid enough and you have bad working conditions … give us some of your money and you can piss and moan with 30,000 other people who won’t be on the field with you.

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

I am sending a copy of that solicitation email from today with a note about what I think about their ad "campaign" and I encourage you to all do the same. No doubt it'll be tilting at windmills and shouting into the void but, this was a poor choice on their part.

~Dawg

[The Man in Blue]

Hot take ... paying us more is not the solution.  Paying more will only bring bodies looking for "easy" money, not minds.

I'm down with @MadMax that "pay to play" has to end.  This is a reason I am likely going to be doing more baseball than softball for the first time (in Illinois).  Summer baseball doesn't require me to drop $100 to an organization that may or may not be hosting any tournaments in my area.

I don't mind paying to an organization if I am getting something (other than the "gracious privilege" of working games).  Even my state association leaves me irritated as they have upped fees (until next year when they will "give" you a second sport free) and taken, taken, taken the benefits away (no casebooks, rule books every other year now, no more patches provided).  The training they provide is a joke:

• An online "Rules Presentation" which is just the the NFHS's Powerpoint with forced local advertisements inserted (yes, actual commercials!)
• Attend a clinic every few years, but you typically have to pay $10 or $20 so Ol' Smitty can rent the back room at the VFW and tell you the same stories and lectures (Wear a clean uniform!  Be on time!  They want us to do this now, but I'm saying keep doing that!)    

As for local associations, I know they are different in other areas.  Around here, they are social clubs and paying my fees gets me access to their mailing lists -- that's it.  They don't assign (but all the assignors are board members).  They put on a golf outing and a banquet.  I usually send them the $25 every 2-3 years. 

Never joined NASO because giving them $100 just so I can deduct it on my taxes doesn't seem like enough of a benefit to me.  But I never realized 30,000 people had done it ... I guess that's a selling point?