DON'T Kill the Umpire
©2007 by LeeZard
Here’s my theory on youth sports:
* Coaches, referees, umpires and league officials: paid professionals.
* Parents: barred from all practices and games.
* Games and practices: videotaped.
* Videotapes: sent home for private viewing.
It started with my son in Little League. The parents running our local Little League had been around for eons and ran it like a private club. They favored their own kids and their own friends. The fields and the equipment were in disrepair. Many of the coaches were untrained, screaming negative demeaning commands to the kids.
The same 10 or 12 people showed up at the annual meeting each year to elect officers. It finally took a massive phone campaign and countless hours of political maneuvering to draw almost 100 people to an annual meeting to throw the rascals out.
After my kids outgrew little league I joined the local umpires association. Standing behind home plate is the best seat in the house. I umpired everything from Senior Little League to high school varsity, American Legion and some community college.
I loved it; worked a lot of high school games. I saw some good baseball. The coaches and players usually treated the umps with respect. Summer youth leagues are a different ball game. Parents are a little wilder, the coaches less restrained. I recall two particularly ugly incidents.
Early in my rookie year, I was teamed with a 20-year veteran to umpire a tournament for 16/17 year olds. The game was uneventful until the third inning. Then, a runner from third slammed into the catcher in a play at the plate– an automatic out in youth ball. My partner immediately called the runner out and all hell broke loose.
The team, led by the coaches, stormed out of the dugout and rushed my partner. I ran from my infield position and tried to head as many of them off as possible. At the same time, parents poured from the stands and gathered behind home plate screaming insults and threats. It took 15 minutes to restore order and sort out the player and coach ejections. Throughout the rest of the game the insults continued from the stands and, at game’s end, my partner and I needed a police escort to get to our cars.
The following season I was working what started out as a lazy Sunday morning game for 17/18 year olds. About halfway through the game one of the players began cursing at the opposition – and the umpire! I ejected the player. His coach exploded from the dugout screaming that he had nobody on the bench. He charged me and bumped me. Ejection; game over.
Afterwards, as I was changing out of my gear in the parking lot (the umpires’ ‘locker room’), the players AND THE COACH, began lobbing rocks at me from about 50 feet away.
So, here’s my real theory on youth sports. There is so much pressure on kids to compete – in life and in sports. Even as they learn some of life’s lessons through sports, the playing field should still be a safe and fun haven for them. But, moms and dads, if you must go to practices and games, please leave your egos at home. Let the coaches coach and the umps ump. Let ‘em just play.
Here’s my theory on youth sports:
* Coaches, referees, umpires and league officials: paid professionals.
* Parents: barred from all practices and games.
* Games and practices: videotaped.
* Videotapes: sent home for private viewing.
It started with my son in Little League. The parents running our local Little League had been around for eons and ran it like a private club. They favored their own kids and their own friends. The fields and the equipment were in disrepair. Many of the coaches were untrained, screaming negative demeaning commands to the kids.
The same 10 or 12 people showed up at the annual meeting each year to elect officers. It finally took a massive phone campaign and countless hours of political maneuvering to draw almost 100 people to an annual meeting to throw the rascals out.
After my kids outgrew little league I joined the local umpires association. Standing behind home plate is the best seat in the house. I umpired everything from Senior Little League to high school varsity, American Legion and some community college.
I loved it; worked a lot of high school games. I saw some good baseball. The coaches and players usually treated the umps with respect. Summer youth leagues are a different ball game. Parents are a little wilder, the coaches less restrained. I recall two particularly ugly incidents.
Early in my rookie year, I was teamed with a 20-year veteran to umpire a tournament for 16/17 year olds. The game was uneventful until the third inning. Then, a runner from third slammed into the catcher in a play at the plate– an automatic out in youth ball. My partner immediately called the runner out and all hell broke loose.
The team, led by the coaches, stormed out of the dugout and rushed my partner. I ran from my infield position and tried to head as many of them off as possible. At the same time, parents poured from the stands and gathered behind home plate screaming insults and threats. It took 15 minutes to restore order and sort out the player and coach ejections. Throughout the rest of the game the insults continued from the stands and, at game’s end, my partner and I needed a police escort to get to our cars.
The following season I was working what started out as a lazy Sunday morning game for 17/18 year olds. About halfway through the game one of the players began cursing at the opposition – and the umpire! I ejected the player. His coach exploded from the dugout screaming that he had nobody on the bench. He charged me and bumped me. Ejection; game over.
Afterwards, as I was changing out of my gear in the parking lot (the umpires’ ‘locker room’), the players AND THE COACH, began lobbing rocks at me from about 50 feet away.
So, here’s my real theory on youth sports. There is so much pressure on kids to compete – in life and in sports. Even as they learn some of life’s lessons through sports, the playing field should still be a safe and fun haven for them. But, moms and dads, if you must go to practices and games, please leave your egos at home. Let the coaches coach and the umps ump. Let ‘em just play.
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