Shortage of Umpires

[Westwind]

Kind of tagging on Rads post

Did a lot of traveling this spring and necessarily went to a lot of restaurants. Often it was in small groups of parents.

It was really obvious that restaurants were struggling with staff numbers. Often we would hear “We have tables but no servers”.

Sometimes it took longer to get food. It really didn’t seem to affect the quality of the food which I think is interesting.

The employees that were showing up seemed to be a cut above- no one was “phoning it in”.

We just viewed it as an opportunity to have an extra beer and enjoy the company. I’m not a wealthy guy but we we really tried to make it worth the employees time for coming to work.

 

[radness]

When people pay money
(pay for the service)
appears some think its that old burger king commercial



Then customer/public becomes the BOSS because
THEY are paying.

imo
situation has been decaying when manners got swept under the carpet on all sides.

Working coffee retail VERY obvious when cel phones came out.

 

[Westwind]

We are fostering a culture of non-compliance.

There is less authority that is respected in even the most basic way.

If you look at softball as a microcosm of society, you can see what it is like to be an umpire of society.

Many people don’t want there to be any rules that apply to them or at the very least they do not accept penalties for bad behavior or consequences of their actions.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Observation as somebody who had spent his whole life working in people management, customer relations, and public relations ...

Observation as somebody who is making a mid-life career change to teaching and is working in a highly impoverished, inner-city school ...

Observation as somebody who has been around youth sports for 30+ years ...

@Westwind nailed it. Drop mic. Close thread.

 

[Westwind]

MIB, I tend to give umpires a bit of a hard time here (because I can’t on a ball field, lol!) but don’t ever think I don’t understand what you are going through. It’s not an easy gig.

I also want to give you a hat tip for doing what you are doing. You have a real chance to change some trajectories. DD is a new ESL certified teacher and the victories and sometimes the tragedy is very real. You guys are the best for taking a job most don’t want. No one gets rich fighting the good fight and I am eternally grateful for those who choose to do it.

 

[Strike2]

Observation as somebody who had spent his whole life working in people management, customer relations, and public relations ...

Observation as somebody who is making a mid-life career change to teaching and is working in a highly impoverished, inner-city school ...

Observation as somebody who has been around youth sports for 30+ years ...

@Westwind nailed it. Drop mic. Close thread.

I saw your post in another thread about the really bad day you recently had. I'm considering umpiring after DD is done. Posts like that definitely give me some pause. I keep reminding myself that while there are too many instances of bad behavior, the vast majority of games happen without any issues. There are even bigger challenges that must be met or this sport, and many others, will be in big trouble.

I keep reading about how umpires as a group are getting older, and my own eyes tend to confirm this. Working a dozen games over a weekend, half behind the plate, with all that gear, will take a physical toll in the summer months. Over the last couple of weeks, I've see lots of older guys not in great shape obviously feeling the effects of the heat. I saw one older guy work HP in an 18U without anything but a facemask. I saw another with a hand tremor so bad that he could barely get his mask on. Both were trips to the ER waiting to happen.

I spent some time in really hot places as a younger guy and still tolerate it well, but I'm not sure the "suck factor" won't overcome any fun and satisfaction I get from it. Apparently, from what happened in Tulsa, a whole bunch of umps decided they had reached that tipping point.

How does this worsening trend get fixed? How do we get younger people to come out, learn rules that takes most years to master, wear wool slacks and a polo, plus gear, in 100-degree heat? More money? Tournaments with fewer pool games? Better facilities?

 

[radness]

Solution?
Higher pay scale?
Maybe some current umpires can share pay scale over the years.

We know softball tournys cost more.
How much more then has umpire pay increased?

In 50 years of softball i have never seen an
'Umpiring recruitment booth'
Like a job fair booth

Promoting the opportunity for the future of players. People.
Seems its a great place because its same sport interest.

 

[FP26]

Higher pay is often successful for recruiting and retention. But until the treatment changes it will continue to be a problem. Unfortunatley there are simply a lot of rude inconsiderate people out there.

 

[_MIA_]

The solution is to tell parents to stay home if they cannot keep their mouth shut. Everybody live streams now anyway..

 

[Gtrips07]

Solution?
Higher pay scale?
Maybe some current umpires can share pay scale over the years.

We know softball tournys cost more.
How much more then has umpire pay increased?

In 50 years of softball i have never seen an
'Umpiring recruitment booth'
Like a job fair booth

Promoting the opportunity for the future of players. People.
Seems its a great place because its same sport interest.

It is not just pay it is also that people don't want to put up with the crap. Also younger people don't have the interest in doing outside activities; it is the electronic generation. The youngest partner I've had this year is 28 and he used to coach.

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