Throughout the years I have had several small jobs, but I have never really had a serious job that I stayed in for a long time. But I think the best job I had was umpiring little league baseball. For four summers starting in the 6th grade, I would umpire at the baseball park that I grew up playing at. The way this job was set up seemed kind of strange to me. I was only twelve when I started doing it and the kids I was umpiring were only a few years younger than me. When you think of umpires, you usually think of adults or at least older kids. I guess it was hard for them to find people to work, so they took whoever they could get. But this job was actually very enjoyable. I was pretty much paid just to stand there and watch little kids play baseball. In little league, there are not many controversial calls, so umpires are actually pretty much worthless. But whenever there was a close call, the coaches would usually criticize your call and argue about it. They probably thought that they could influence your decisions since you were just a young kid. But overall, it was a good experience. It taught me responsibility and it was an easy way to get some experience. It was also very convenient since the park was located about five minutes from my house. It also gave me something to do and was a way to earn money. It was also a lot better than many other jobs I could have got involved in.
As long as you aren't that ump that called a 3rd strike on me when I was in the 4th grade. That pitch was way outside ! Sorry, flashbacks.
ReplyDeleteI think one important part of being any kind of little league referee is dealing with pressure from coaches and parents. My younger brother used to referee kids soccer games, and sometimes parents and coaches would get mad and yell at the calls he made. I think its pretty crazy how hard-core parents can get in these sports made for kids.
ReplyDeleteI used to play little league softball and the umps were always girls I knew from school that were about two years older than me. I know exactly how it works and I know what you mean by the fact that the umpw were useless. Especially when the pitcher was a parent. The club did as much as they could to make the experience realistic and that is what matters.
ReplyDeleteI also think the organization was just trying to eliminate bias when it came to decisions if they let parents ref. I also agree that at times parents take little league sports too seriously. Its a time to just let your kids have fun with friends and learn how to play.
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