Yikes!I had a customer throw a bag of frozen peas at one of my other managers because they wouldn't take it back
And umpires think they have it bad. A grocery store manager makes more than an umpire and has to put up with dodging frozen peas!
Yikes!I had a customer throw a bag of frozen peas at one of my other managers because they wouldn't take it back
I understand and you make a valid point about getting thicker skin........I used the term deescalate because it is used at umpire camps. Experience will thicken all skin. Experienced umpires won't talk or engage at all and I did not.Get thicker skin is what I would answer. Like a retail worker has to do. Try to be less offended. Brush it off and forget about it. People in all kinds of professions have to deal with rude people. Just be one of them.
Obviously it's not cool for someone to say that to you but realistically, someone saying "That's terrible" is not the end of the world. If something like "that's terrible" offends you, how do you survive driving in traffic? Lol.... We have to deal with rude inconsiderate people every day from the guy at the grocery store who has 25 items in the 15 item or less line to the lady that swings in front of you for that prime parking spot. Just have to smile and move on because there is no way we can re-train all of the rudeness out of people these days. That horse is out of the barn.
And that's why I only like doing high school games because everything is alot more controlled and the behavior isn't tolerated. You have administrators at the game to help you deal with the fans and to kick out real problem people.I understand and you make a valid point about getting thicker skin........I used the term deescalate because it is used at umpire camps. Experience will thicken all skin. Experienced umpires won't talk or engage at all and I did not.
However, you cant brush it off and forget about it when the confrontation extends outside the diamond fences or the guy is calling me a terrible MF when my 10 and 7 year old son are watching me umpire in the same bleachers.
The thickness of my skin or any umpires skin has no bearing on the initial rude and offensive behavior of others. Ignore them until they assault you I guess.
Anyway my point is every 1st year umpire we had for MS did not come back this year and the main reason is the behavior of everyone but specifically parents and coaches.
This is long, but you asked…We need more details on both of these. Seniors quitting, especially if the coach is new or just not liked, isn't unusual, but quitting at/during games certainly is.
It’s been building for some time, but had a Senior on DD’s HS team quit in the middle of the game last night…with two games left in the regular season. I was watching the game along the LF fence and someone said, hey, isn’t that X walking away from the field. But it gets better…
X and one of her parents came back after the “chalk talk” at the end of the game. They confronted the coaches with the AD in tow. Was a heated conversation that seemed to be going on way too long and one the assistant coaches and the parent almost came to blows with the AD stepping in between. It was on display for most to see and for her teammates who were busy cleaning up the field, etc.
This is the second girl on the team to quit. The previous one quit immediately before a game a couple weeks ago. Took her jersey off just after the national anthem, threw it down, and walked away. Another Senior.
Something can share to that is some teenagers/people think there is power when stories like that get to social media.This is long, but you asked…
I don’t know all the back story, but, in the end, it mostly comes down to playing time. Head Coach took 16 girls for Varsity, including 5 Seniors. The two Seniors that quit were starting players last year in a somewhat truncated 2021 season (season started about a month late due to COVID). This season both those Seniors were displaced by two Freshman. The two Seniors in question have not played travel for at least two years. The Freshmen, who play on regional-level travel teams, were defensive upgrades and at least one of them was also an offensive upgrade. The two Seniors also seemed to come into the HS season physically banged up. So, early on, they seemed to be rolling with it.
As the season wore on (we have 1 regular season game left now) and it was more and more obvious that the opportunities would be few and far between, pressure began building. They did get some pinch hitting opportunities, but very little field time. The one that quit after the National Anthem apparently had her own convo with the head coach about her role not long before. When she saw the starting line up for that night (apparently judging that her talk had had no impact), she walked. In her mind, she didn’t think she was really getting a chance to compete for playing time and that the coach’s mind was fixed. There may be some truth to this.
I think the trigger for the other Senior last night was that the game was a make up for our rained out Senior Night. She did start in the field and got one AB (a K). When the pitcher was pulled in the 3rd or 4th inning, she replaced the Senior defensively. It was not long after that that someone noticed the Senior walking away from the field.
Beyond playing time, I think the second Senior felt that the coaches do not communicate effectively (think there is some truth to this) or appropriately (that is, they are “mean”; not sure there is any truth to this) and that the Head Coach had obvious favorites that are treated differently (probably some truth to this too). Anyway, it was a mess, and I am sure there is more to it than what I know or have heard. I do think that the coaches do not communicate enough with the girls about their roles, where they see them, what they need to see from them, etc. The communication mostly comes through the line up card and the rest is left up to the girls to figure out.
What some of the girls have found curious is that the Head Coach has never addressed the fact of either girl quitting with the team. Was as if the players (who to that point had been in the program 4 years) had never existed, at least one of the two was well liked. Definitely has cast a shadow over the end of the season.
Must be a thing. I watched 2 or 3 seniors last year on our high school team quit, as soon as they found out they would not be starting varsity. They would of played on the B team but you have to wonder if they like the game to begin with.It’s been building for some time, but had a Senior on DD’s HS team quit in the middle of the game last night…with two games left in the regular season. I was watching the game along the LF fence and someone said, hey, isn’t that X walking away from the field. But it gets better…
X and one of her parents came back after the “chalk talk” at the end of the game. They confronted the coaches with the AD in tow. Was a heated conversation that seemed to be going on way too long and one the assistant coaches and the parent almost came to blows with the AD stepping in between. It was on display for most to see and for her teammates who were busy cleaning up the field, etc.
This is the second girl on the team to quit. The previous one quit immediately before a game a couple weeks ago. Took her jersey off just after the national anthem, threw it down, and walked away. Another Senior.
The most realistic step is to retrain the umpires to be less offended. I didn't say that's how it should be, but realistically, that's the only way to accomplish what he asked about.
What training? You can't retrain if you are not going to provide even initial training for umpires. You want better umpires? Then someone needs to actually invest in better umpires.
I don't disagree about having really, really thick skin as an official and honestly that helps a lot. I have very few issues as an official - but that has come through YEARS of experience. But most officials don't have that - and no one is helping in ANY WAY.
You also keep talking about this as a job and making irrelevant comparisons to retail; there are very few officials who make this their 'job'. This isn't a 'job' - I have one of those. Most officials either work full time elsewhere or are retirees.