parents

[dumbdumb]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2024/04/21/college-sports-recruiting-advice-for-parents/73388888007/

and--poor kids need not apply

in the old days only little league and school ball, now travel ball and other leagues (get rid of the rif raf little league guys and poor kids from the competition) oh and not enough umpires due to so many more leagues-- ah heck, just go to 1 man and use the abs system. no more yogi berra, mickey mantle, willie mays, hank aaron etc poor kids.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/hockey/2024/06/09/youth-hockey-growth-problems-stanley-cup-finals/74032648007/?tbref=hp

[concertman1971]

Guys, we need to stop using the phrase "there is an umpire shortage" (or any variation of it). There is not a shortage of umpires. What there is a shortage of is: respect for umpires, affordable points of entry, training, willingness of umpires to accept one-man games, and........PAY. 

IMO, since I started umpiring in 2006, Respect has gone down, $$ point of entry has gone through the roof, training is minimal or costly, assignors in OC are still trying to get guys to work one-man on the 90-ft field (and other umpires will work "free man" to  'get reps', allowing the assignors to continue to assign one umpire)and the pay............don't get me started.

If these things changed, there would be no (perceived) shortage of umpires.

How hard would it be for a league/assignor to get umpires if the following was met:

• League Officers/TD's actually cared about parent/fan behavior
• If instead of keeping old/used/outdated gear, we veteran umpires donated it to a young gun who is trying to take our place on the field
• If we veteran umpires accepted 2/3 man games with the young guns (still trying to take our place) and trained them
• STOP ACCEPTING ONE MAN GAMES
• If Leagues/Tournaments kept pay in line with COL (how does travel ball in TN pay more than in So CAL???)

I should probably go have some coffee

[Velho]

7 minutes ago, concertman1971 said:

League Officers/TD's actually cared about parent/fan behavior

[cynical] Less game would mean less umpires needed. [/cynical]

 

8 minutes ago, concertman1971 said:

If Leagues/Tournaments kept pay in line with COL (how does travel ball in TN pay more than in So CAL???

What's the pay? This was probably on the UE somewhere but I missed it.

[The Man in Blue]

IMO, "less games" is actually a big part of the solution.  JV teams don't need to play a 30-35 game schedule.  Freshmen teams don't need to play a 20+ game schedule.  We don't need 6 separate tournaments happening within a two-hour radius every weekend.  We need less games, not more umpires.

We do not need more more umpires, we need more GOOD umpires (yes, I am placing that qualification on there).

NEVER accept one-man assignments.

A few years back, somebody on here told me summer tournaments in TN were paying up to $100/game. 

That said, pay is not usually an issue for me.  My go-to line is "I don't do it for the pay, but I also don't do it for the pay."  If the pay is too low, I just don't accept the game.  (No, I don't know of somebody else at that price.)  My issue isn't with low pay (I volunteered yesterday so we could work a 3-man crew for HS all star games; the other two guys got paid), it is with the lack of respect.  I will work for lower pay with more respect.  Offend me (and yes, low-balling up front is a way to do that) and negotiating the pay won't be a problem for me.

Here is a current example (will be posting this in a thread of its own as there are multiple issues, I'll leave those out here): we received a 5-year notification of pay scale for a group of local schools.  JV pay is already low, and will be held for at least the 3rd straight year at $60/game (a 2-hour time limit was implemented last year to justify this).  I made $75/game this past weekend for 1:15 softball games.  Middle school ball is paying $75-$80 (and some even more) also with the 2-hour time limit.  

Which circles us back around to the beginning . . . The schools say, "We have a budget, so that's why we have to pay what we pay."  However, they have been adding more games while holding that budget.  So, instead of a 28-game schedule at $75/umpire, they schedule 35 games at $60/umpire.  TOO MANY GAMES BEING PLAYED.

[concertman1971]

27 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

we received a 5-year notification of pay scale for a group of local schools. 

This should also terrify us all. 5 years???? 

[wolfe_man]

*

[Mudisfun]

4 hours ago, concertman1971 said:

Guys, we need to stop using the phrase "there is an umpire shortage" (or any variation of it). There is not a shortage of umpires. What there is a shortage of is: respect for umpires, affordable points of entry, training, willingness of umpires to accept one-man games, and........PAY. 

IMO, since I started umpiring in 2006, Respect has gone down, $$ point of entry has gone through the roof, training is minimal or costly, assignors in OC are still trying to get guys to work one-man on the 90-ft field (and other umpires will work "free man" to  'get reps', allowing the assignors to continue to assign one umpire)and the pay............don't get me started.

If these things changed, there would be no (perceived) shortage of umpires.

How hard would it be for a league/assignor to get umpires if the following was met:

• League Officers/TD's actually cared about parent/fan behavior
• If instead of keeping old/used/outdated gear, we veteran umpires donated it to a young gun who is trying to take our place on the field
• If we veteran umpires accepted 2/3 man games with the young guns (still trying to take our place) and trained them
• STOP ACCEPTING ONE MAN GAMES
• If Leagues/Tournaments kept pay in line with COL (how does travel ball in TN pay more than in So CAL???)

I should probably go have some coffee

Can't image what assignor(s) in the OC area you are referring to that schedules games with only 1 guy...

At lease we have several other assignors who are scheduling the tournaments, 2 man @ $80+ per guy, per game, depending on the weekend. Heck, I worked a double header showcase a few weeks back: 2 man. 10 inning, but 5 batters/3 outs and flip it (games lasted around 2:15-2:30). Pay rate? $150 per guy, per game! That was a complete shock.

[concertman1971]

1 hour ago, Mudisfun said:

Can't image what assignor(s) in the OC area you are referring to that schedules games with only 1 guy...

There are a few...........LOL

1 hour ago, Mudisfun said:

2 man @ $80+ per guy

I mean yes, this is decent, but how long has it been at or near $80/game? Prices have grown about 20% overall since 2020, according to an analysis by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office based on the most recent consumer price index data.

Nashville, TN pays $90 for the same games/time limits..........and I know gas there aint $4.79/gallon ($2.69). I mean, I can CONFIRM the Liquor By the Drink (AKA SIN TAX) is 10% additional but.

"what we permit, we promote"