MOTIVATATION
By ROBERT HITCHMAN
Motivation. Why do we do the things we do? Why do we go to our jobs, day after day? Why do we take college courses after a long day’s work? Why do we drive the kids to practice and games? Why do we go to church every Sunday? These are questions that most people may or may not know the answer to, but probably don’t think about at all. If they did, it would probably make their lives better, more enjoyable, or at least easier to change if needed. I know these questions seem obvious, and a lot of the points I’m going to bring up will seem obvious. Unfortunately, a lot of people fail to see the obvious, including umpires, so by bringing up the obvious, you can ask yourself the tough questions so you can be the best umpire you can be.
Therefore, as umpires we need to ask ourselves the same questions. Do we umpire just for the money? Do we do it just because we have a child in the league? Do we do it because we heard there was a need and we just wanted to help out and fill it? Do we do it because it will look good on our resume?
WITHOUT US, THERE’S NO GAME
Well, the simple truth is that there is such a shortage of officials in all sports, youth sports in particular, that regardless of your reasons, you can be an umpire if you want to. To be the best umpire you can be and to make it more enjoyable, however, you need to know your motivation and, if at all possible, make sure it’s for the right reason. Mind you, I’m not saying you have to have absolutely pure motives. None of us are perfect. I’m just suggesting that if you know your why, your how will be a little (or maybe a lot) easier and more enjoyable.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
Let’s start with money. Good place to start. I’m sure you’ve heard professional players and coaches say they can’t believe they get paid to play or coach, they’d do it for free. Yeah right. Decades ago I heard Pete Rose say he wouldn’t play MLB for free, but he’d play for cost. To me that sounds a lot more realistic.
Now if you’re umpiring just for the money, unless your goal is to get to MLB, and you’re very patient, you might want re-think that. Now I’m not writing to judge you but money is really something as an umpire you have to consider, but if your motivation is just money, that can cause problems. If money is your number one goal, it can affect the integrity of your calls. I’ve seen guys who just want to get their check, have the biggest strike zone you can imagine, and any close call is out, trying to get the game over as soon as possible. That only hurts all of us umpires and then they wonder why some coaches argue as much as they do. Of course, the money makes it a little easier to deal with some of the coaches and parents we have to deal with.
If you’re just doing a few games on the weekend during the spring for your town, then you probably won’t get a lot, if anything. You might even be volunteering, and that’s fine. As long as you’re aware of that. If you’re like me, money is an issue but it’s not the most important factor. I’ve only been umpiring just under 10 years and each year I do more games. And I’m good with that. And each year I seem to be driving further for my games so that’s a consideration as well. I’ll get into my personal motivation for umpiring at the end of this article.
Those of you who have a son or daughter who is playing, (and this ties in with filling a need), that’s understandable and very commendable. However, I don’t know of any umpire who is allowed to do games in the same league that their child is playing in, much less their child’s games because of the obvious conflict of interest. Here’s the thing though: I’m sure many of you who started out just feeling a need, continue to do it after your child was done because you enjoyed it.
If you’re doing this because you think it will look good on your resume, that’s fine. I’m assuming you’re either in education, want to get into coaching, or you work for or run a not-for-profit. If that’s the case, you may be better served doing it for free and for the younger age groups.
NEVER GETS OLD
My personal motivation is simply this: I love the game. I have a high baseball acumen. My senior year in high school we lost a city championship at Yankee Stadium, 4-3 with the tying run on third base. I played college baseball in Southern California, and I played some pro baseball in Mexico. After I retired from the phone company, I started to go to more MLB games. I just decided I want to get back into it. Bottom line is, and I’m sure many of you can relate to this: regardless of all the challenges we face as umpires, being on the field of the game we grew up loving, never gets old.
Finally, the reason why knowing your motivation is so important is, like I said before, knowing your why will help your how. You’ll be more determined to spend the money and time on those refresher courses, the clinics, watching the instructional YouTube videos, and reading and studying the rule book. I’ve been to some clinics where some of the instructors who have umped pro ball said they actually go to clinics and watch training videos themselves. If you have the right motivation, you’ll always be learning, always be trying to improve. Excellence and fundamentals don’t slump and we should never take time off from them. So, until next time, let’s “PLAY BALL!”