Umped another 8U game tonight
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Here's my 10U story....(be forewarned...it rambles a bit):
Five years ago we moved to the area that we now call home. After having spent 25 years living in various parts of the country due to my career, I took advantage of an early retirement package. Suddenly I found I had time to get back involved in umpiring. During those 25 years of working and moving, I'd be able to umpire for a few seasons, have to take a few seasons off, get back into it for a few more seasons, take a season or two off....a continuous cycle of "on again off again umpiring." Youth rec leagues, adult leagues, both baseball and softball.
I joined the local association here, and as these things go with umpire associations, I was the new guy (despite my background) so I was assigned on a regular basis to the 10U division of a local girl's FP league.
I had not umpired this young of an age group in a long long time. The league was based in a rural town quite a distance from my home (44 mile round trip) and the field for the 10U's was not part of the league's 2 field complex for their older teams. Rather it was a little field that had literally been cut out of woods several miles away. Well when you're a 8 yo 10U you don't care...you're in your own little "filed of dreams". You've got a uniform, a field with chalk base lines, real bases, teammates, you get to wear scrunchies that match your uniform and eye black, you have your parents/siblings/grandparents (and sometimes your dog) watching and cheering from lawn chairs nestled in the trees. It doesn't get much better than that...or maybe it does.
No scoreboard? no PA announcer? no concession stand? no fancy dugout/bench area? no fences?......no problem! You get to do all the crazy, silly, fun things that have been mentioned in previous posts, plus even (hopefully) learn how to get a hit, (or a walk), run the bases, learn how to throw, learn to catch, (maybe even pitch), get to wear all that neat catcher's equipment, slide, get dirty, drink strange sounding flavors of Gatorade, chew Double Bubble, and do team cheers.
This was my umpiring world my first full season back in the game. A come down for an experienced seasoned umpire? Perhaps. But I had no choice but to try and embrace the experience. These were the only games I was going to be assigned and they paid well. I have to admit, that despite all the trials, tribulations, and countless odd situations that popped up every game I enjoyed the experience. It's softball at its purest form. The girls are learning the game, (for many their first time on a softball diamond), learning to be part of a team, and having the benefit of coaches who are willing to put in the time to teach them how to play. I mean the looks on their faces when they get their first hit, catch their first fly ball, throw out their first runner, cross home plate for the first time.....priceless. Do they cry when they strike out or can't throw the ball over the plate and the coach needs to bring in another pitcher? Yes at times, but there is a beauty in watching them recover from that and learn from it when they get a hit their next time up or pitch better and get batters out in the next game they pitch.
I observed all this umpiring in this league two nights a week and each weekend when I would do a doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday over a season that lasted six weeks. Were most of the games bad....yes. We rarely played the six full innings that constituted a full game at their level. Fortunately, the league had both a per inning run limit and a game time limit.
But the level or quality of play does not mean as an umpire that you put in less of an effort on the field. I worked hard and I hustled. I was directed by the league to call a "liberal" strike zone. Well that's easiser said than done when you have young inexperienced pitchers (and batters). I worked hard to develop a strike zone for that league that was consistent and fair within the parameters that the league gave me. I mean here's the thing, the pitchers need to learn to pitch, so a liberal strike zone makes it easier for them to develop some sense of accomplishment and confidence that they can in fact strike a batter out. On the other hand, the batters need to learn what will and what will not be called a strike, what is the strike zone, what pitches should they be swinging at. It was a tough balancing act, but I feel I did a good job with it. I had no qualms about calling a batter out on strikes, I just made sure it was on a pitch that she could have had a chance of putting her bat on if she had swung. Same applied when the count got to three balls, borderline it was a strike. Learn to swing the bat early in your development. Calls on the bases (I worked all the games solo)....if it was close out. Let the defensive players develop the sense of accomplishment that they can get an out.
The coaches liked the way I worked the games...they seemed to appreciate the effort. There were many special league rules for this division, and when an odd situation would develop that was not clearly covered by their rules, I'd call time, get the coaches together, and say something to the effect..."OK here's what we've got and while the league rule says X....it's actually Y that happened and Y is not covered. How do you want me to handle it?" If what they came up with was fair to both teams...that's what we went with. As I would say many times to the coaches, something to the effect, "we're all here to help these girls develop and learn so that in they're to four years there on your league's all-star team and playing in district, regional, and state tournaments."
This was just a different softball and umpiring world to me. This was the level I had started out at as a 18 year old rookie forty years ago. I chose to take it for what was, make the best of it. I realized that these games were important in a different kind of way to the young players and to the coaches involved. That this 10U division deserved the same level of effort and professionalism from me as umpire as the coaches of an 18U Gold game would expect.
I now work a full schedule of NCAA DII and DIII games in the spring and travel team ASA and PONY tournaments in the summer. But I also still work one night a week in this league...but only in their 10U division!!
Five years ago we moved to the area that we now call home. After having spent 25 years living in various parts of the country due to my career, I took advantage of an early retirement package. Suddenly I found I had time to get back involved in umpiring. During those 25 years of working and moving, I'd be able to umpire for a few seasons, have to take a few seasons off, get back into it for a few more seasons, take a season or two off....a continuous cycle of "on again off again umpiring." Youth rec leagues, adult leagues, both baseball and softball.
I joined the local association here, and as these things go with umpire associations, I was the new guy (despite my background) so I was assigned on a regular basis to the 10U division of a local girl's FP league.
I had not umpired this young of an age group in a long long time. The league was based in a rural town quite a distance from my home (44 mile round trip) and the field for the 10U's was not part of the league's 2 field complex for their older teams. Rather it was a little field that had literally been cut out of woods several miles away. Well when you're a 8 yo 10U you don't care...you're in your own little "filed of dreams". You've got a uniform, a field with chalk base lines, real bases, teammates, you get to wear scrunchies that match your uniform and eye black, you have your parents/siblings/grandparents (and sometimes your dog) watching and cheering from lawn chairs nestled in the trees. It doesn't get much better than that...or maybe it does.
No scoreboard? no PA announcer? no concession stand? no fancy dugout/bench area? no fences?......no problem! You get to do all the crazy, silly, fun things that have been mentioned in previous posts, plus even (hopefully) learn how to get a hit, (or a walk), run the bases, learn how to throw, learn to catch, (maybe even pitch), get to wear all that neat catcher's equipment, slide, get dirty, drink strange sounding flavors of Gatorade, chew Double Bubble, and do team cheers.
This was my umpiring world my first full season back in the game. A come down for an experienced seasoned umpire? Perhaps. But I had no choice but to try and embrace the experience. These were the only games I was going to be assigned and they paid well. I have to admit, that despite all the trials, tribulations, and countless odd situations that popped up every game I enjoyed the experience. It's softball at its purest form. The girls are learning the game, (for many their first time on a softball diamond), learning to be part of a team, and having the benefit of coaches who are willing to put in the time to teach them how to play. I mean the looks on their faces when they get their first hit, catch their first fly ball, throw out their first runner, cross home plate for the first time.....priceless. Do they cry when they strike out or can't throw the ball over the plate and the coach needs to bring in another pitcher? Yes at times, but there is a beauty in watching them recover from that and learn from it when they get a hit their next time up or pitch better and get batters out in the next game they pitch.
I observed all this umpiring in this league two nights a week and each weekend when I would do a doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday over a season that lasted six weeks. Were most of the games bad....yes. We rarely played the six full innings that constituted a full game at their level. Fortunately, the league had both a per inning run limit and a game time limit.
But the level or quality of play does not mean as an umpire that you put in less of an effort on the field. I worked hard and I hustled. I was directed by the league to call a "liberal" strike zone. Well that's easiser said than done when you have young inexperienced pitchers (and batters). I worked hard to develop a strike zone for that league that was consistent and fair within the parameters that the league gave me. I mean here's the thing, the pitchers need to learn to pitch, so a liberal strike zone makes it easier for them to develop some sense of accomplishment and confidence that they can in fact strike a batter out. On the other hand, the batters need to learn what will and what will not be called a strike, what is the strike zone, what pitches should they be swinging at. It was a tough balancing act, but I feel I did a good job with it. I had no qualms about calling a batter out on strikes, I just made sure it was on a pitch that she could have had a chance of putting her bat on if she had swung. Same applied when the count got to three balls, borderline it was a strike. Learn to swing the bat early in your development. Calls on the bases (I worked all the games solo)....if it was close out. Let the defensive players develop the sense of accomplishment that they can get an out.
The coaches liked the way I worked the games...they seemed to appreciate the effort. There were many special league rules for this division, and when an odd situation would develop that was not clearly covered by their rules, I'd call time, get the coaches together, and say something to the effect..."OK here's what we've got and while the league rule says X....it's actually Y that happened and Y is not covered. How do you want me to handle it?" If what they came up with was fair to both teams...that's what we went with. As I would say many times to the coaches, something to the effect, "we're all here to help these girls develop and learn so that in they're to four years there on your league's all-star team and playing in district, regional, and state tournaments."
This was just a different softball and umpiring world to me. This was the level I had started out at as a 18 year old rookie forty years ago. I chose to take it for what was, make the best of it. I realized that these games were important in a different kind of way to the young players and to the coaches involved. That this 10U division deserved the same level of effort and professionalism from me as umpire as the coaches of an 18U Gold game would expect.
I now work a full schedule of NCAA DII and DIII games in the spring and travel team ASA and PONY tournaments in the summer. But I also still work one night a week in this league...but only in their 10U division!!
