Impartial_Observer Posted June 2 Posted June 2 (edited) I will preface all I’m about to say by stating I have been involved in yute sports from every angle, player, coach, official, and administrator, I always felt like I had a pretty good handle on what we, at least I was trying to accomplish with yute sports. And call me a romantic, but I truly believe athletics are an extension of the classroom. With all that being said everyone is aware of the current state of officiating at all levels. Shortages, bad officials, inexperienced officials working to high of levels, rinse, repeat. Over the weekend while supervising a club softball tournament I read numerous posts on FB complaining about umps… from C level to a HS Varsity HC complaining umpires cost his team a sectional championship in a 7-6 that featured his opponent hitting a grand slam. Most of the posts, complete with pics and vids did show a generous strike zone. But the recurring theme I heard was yes it was like that the every game of the sectional. Everything I saw as an uninterested third party looked consistent to me. WTF else can you ask for? I will assure you when I’m on fire behind the dish I’ll still miss a couple. Which leads me to the point of this paperback. I’m 61 years old and I realize I’m from another time, but in my thinking, we need to adjust to Blue’s zone. That would seem a LOT more logical than bitching about balls and strikes on FB wouldn’t it? Today I got involved in this gem on FB. 11 YO gets punched out on a pitch in the other batters box, it’s a bad call, but it IS the call. My point is my thought process in ALL of this I’m trying to teach my kids A) shit just went wrong, how are you going to react and B) to control what they can control. And don’t waste energy on stuff you can’t. Instead of whining on FB and looking like a TOTAL BEOTCH, what if we taught our kids to make adjustments. If Blue’s got a wide zone, let’s throw our hands at it, foul it off and maybe the next pitch will be something we can do something with. On the other side of it, when you’re sitting over there on that bucket, don’t you keep calling farther and farther out until you figure out Blue’s limit is? What are we trying to accomplish with youth sports today? As an official and administrator, what are we doing? Are we here for the NIL money, college scholarships, have fun, child development, social status ( yes I’m looking at you in particular Westfield), I’m down with whatever just let me know what we’re trying to accomplish Edited June 2 by Impartial_Observer 8 Quote
First_Backer_Inside Posted June 2 Posted June 2 1 hour ago, Impartial_Observer said: I will preface all I’m about to say by stating I have been involved in yute sports from every angle, player, coach, official, and administrator, I always felt like I had a pretty good handle on what we, at least I was trying to accomplish with yute sports. And call me a romantic, but I truly believe athletics are an extension of the classroom. With all that being said everyone is aware of the current state of officiating at all levels. Shortages, bad officials, inexperienced officials working to high of levels, rinse, repeat. Over the weekend while supervising a club softball tournament I read numerous posts on FB complaining about umps… from C level to a HS Varsity HC complaining umpires cost his team a sectional championship in a 7-6 that featured his opponent hitting a grand slam. Most of the posts, complete with pics and vids did show a generous strike zone. But the recurring theme I heard was yes it was like that the every game of the sectional. Everything I saw as an uninterested third party looked consistent to me. WTF else can you ask for? I will assure you when I’m on fire behind the dish I’ll still miss a couple. Which leads me to the point of this paperback. I’m 61 years old and I realize I’m from another time, but in my thinking, we need to adjust to Blue’s zone. That would seem a LOT more logical than bitching about balls and strikes on FB wouldn’t it? Today I got involved in this gem on FB. 11 YO gets punched out on a pitch in the other batters box, it’s a bad call, but it IS the call. My point is my thought process in ALL of this I’m trying to teach my kids A) shit just went wrong, how are you going to react and B) to control what they can control. And don’t waste energy on stuff you can’t. Instead of whining on FB and looking like a TOTAL BEOTCH, what if we taught our kids to make adjustments. If Blue’s got a wide zone, let’s throw our hands at it, foul it off and maybe the next pitch will be something we can do something with. On the other side of it, when you’re sitting over there on that bucket, don’t you keep calling farther and farther out until you figure out Blue’s limit is? What are we trying to accomplish with youth sports today? As an official and administrator, what are we doing? Are we here for the NIL money, college scholarships, have fun, child development, social status ( yes I’m looking at you in particular Westfield), I’m down with whatever just let me know what we’re trying to accomplish I love winning as much as the next person, but what happened to finding a way to win through actions rather than words and complaints. This is the reason we have little girls and boys going out into the real world instead of young men and women. We have parents, coaches, and leaders holding the hands of student athletes to make sure everything goes perfect for them. One thing I never understood as a child, but now can't appreciate enough from my parents was their ability to allow my siblings and I to fail on our own, and sit back and say you got knocked on your ass what are YOU going to do to figure it out because once you get out in the real world there's no one to sit there and hold your hand through this whole thing we call life. We're crippling our youngsters by not allowing them to fail similar to what you said with the strike zone. It's bigger figure it out. 4 Quote
23andCounting Posted June 2 Posted June 2 Some of the officiating stinks, no doubt. But it's not purposeful with ill intentions. These guys are basically volunteering their time at the high school level............the pay isn't great. Grownups just need to, well, grow up. Quote
Titan32 Posted June 2 Posted June 2 As a former umpire and a former baseball coach, some wise words to live by: NEVER argue balls and strikes. 1 Quote
Impartial_Observer Posted June 2 Author Posted June 2 53 minutes ago, Titan32 said: As a former umpire and a former baseball coach, some wise words to live by: NEVER argue balls and strikes. Word! But just for illustration here. It’s my zone, you need to adapt. 3 Quote
Coach Nowlin Posted June 2 Posted June 2 Good Luck with that.... now that ABS..... is on all the algorithms..... I mean if the the 9U teams and their $150 worth of Gloves, Sleeves, Eye Black, Shades, pads, all while clipping their favorite Song for 12 sec of walk up so they can go 1-4 in the local Summer league, I am SURE the new ABS won't filter into their demeanor when things do not go their way for lil JR in the box or on the bump. How bout that coach who told his player to throw a heater in the opposing dugout from the bump....... 4 Quote
Frozen Tundra Posted June 3 Posted June 3 17 hours ago, tango said: I hate travel sports. And college baseball. The heck did college baseball do to you? 2 1 Quote
tango Posted June 3 Posted June 3 (edited) 4 hours ago, Frozen Tundra said: The heck did college baseball do to you? College baseball has way too much of this crap.... https://www.facebook.com/reel/819663354330739 Now granted, I get mad when our football players do the flying chest bump after a TD, so I acknowledge the fuddy-duddyness to my position. Edited June 3 by tango Quote
Frozen Tundra Posted June 3 Posted June 3 59 minutes ago, tango said: College baseball has way too much of this crap.... https://www.facebook.com/reel/819663354330739 Now granted, I get mad when our football players do the flying chest bump after a TD, so I acknowledge the fuddy-duddyness to my position. Oh ok. I hate that stuff too but the NCAA Baseball Tournament is one of the most interesting and entertaining postseasons in all of sports. Most people don’t even realize it but more are starting to jump onboard. 1 Quote
Irishman Posted June 3 Posted June 3 But this is also a part of college baseball......after a walkoff win against that team to the south of us. Just TRY to tell us you don't get goosebumps watching. 🙂 2 Quote
CoachK5 Posted June 3 Posted June 3 This will be an interesting topic as it moves forward. I too hate what the travel sport teams are doing too the kids. It's never their fault, the ump (official) screwed us, me our team...... Like IO says, adapt to how the game is being called. 2 Quote
Irishman Posted June 3 Posted June 3 2 hours ago, CoachK5 said: This will be an interesting topic as it moves forward. I too hate what the travel sport teams are doing too the kids. I am curious to see what the impact will be on football. The popular term is "exposure". Travel 7 on 7 teams can go much further than full teams can, and can play out of season. The biggest impact is among smaller schools where kids are having to choose what sports to continue playing and which ones to give up. Far too often, football loses out. It is not easy to put a helmet on when it's 80 degrees or higher. The effort it takes to get better is too hard for some, so they choose another sport and skip summer workouts for football. Often times, it's the parents making that call too with the cost of travel teams being what they are. Quote
WWFan Posted June 3 Posted June 3 100%. While alot of this is focused on travel ball its at every youth level. Even when its just a Jr High game....like nobody is gonna remember or care who won 7th grade conference in 10 years. I've said it before as I watch more and more youth sports that alot of times I feel some (not all) coach to win rather then coach to develop and prepare for sports at high school level 2 Quote
Shoot_The_Hands Posted June 4 Posted June 4 On 6/2/2026 at 2:50 PM, Impartial_Observer said: Word! But just for illustration here. It’s my zone, you need to adapt. So I have to follow the rules of the game but the umpire doesn't have to... 1 Quote
Bash Riprock Posted June 4 Posted June 4 On 6/1/2026 at 9:22 PM, Impartial_Observer said: I will preface all I’m about to say by stating I have been involved in yute sports from every angle, player, coach, official, and administrator, I always felt like I had a pretty good handle on what we, at least I was trying to accomplish with yute sports. And call me a romantic, but I truly believe athletics are an extension of the classroom. With all that being said everyone is aware of the current state of officiating at all levels. Shortages, bad officials, inexperienced officials working to high of levels, rinse, repeat. Over the weekend while supervising a club softball tournament I read numerous posts on FB complaining about umps… from C level to a HS Varsity HC complaining umpires cost his team a sectional championship in a 7-6 that featured his opponent hitting a grand slam. Most of the posts, complete with pics and vids did show a generous strike zone. But the recurring theme I heard was yes it was like that the every game of the sectional. Everything I saw as an uninterested third party looked consistent to me. WTF else can you ask for? I will assure you when I’m on fire behind the dish I’ll still miss a couple. Which leads me to the point of this paperback. I’m 61 years old and I realize I’m from another time, but in my thinking, we need to adjust to Blue’s zone. That would seem a LOT more logical than bitching about balls and strikes on FB wouldn’t it? Today I got involved in this gem on FB. 11 YO gets punched out on a pitch in the other batters box, it’s a bad call, but it IS the call. My point is my thought process in ALL of this I’m trying to teach my kids A) shit just went wrong, how are you going to react and B) to control what they can control. And don’t waste energy on stuff you can’t. Instead of whining on FB and looking like a TOTAL BEOTCH, what if we taught our kids to make adjustments. If Blue’s got a wide zone, let’s throw our hands at it, foul it off and maybe the next pitch will be something we can do something with. On the other side of it, when you’re sitting over there on that bucket, don’t you keep calling farther and farther out until you figure out Blue’s limit is? What are we trying to accomplish with youth sports today? As an official and administrator, what are we doing? Are we here for the NIL money, college scholarships, have fun, child development, social status ( yes I’m looking at you in particular Westfield), I’m down with whatever just let me know what we’re trying to accomplish thought this was interesting...as we always stated...the worst aspect of youth sports.....parents. Most of those living out their unfulfilled dreams through their children. Quote
PDB26 Posted June 4 Posted June 4 21 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said: thought this was interesting...as we always stated...the worst aspect of youth sports.....parents. Most of those living out their unfulfilled dreams through their children. I’d say it’s the parents and those looking to profit from the parents that are driving the biggest problems in youth sports today. Another thought: I’d be willing to bet that parent/coach behavior re officiating has only gotten worse as professional and college sports rely more on technology to resolve the grave “injustices” of human error. 3 Quote
Muda69 Posted June 4 Posted June 4 One of my kids quit sports at around 12-13. He hated the sudden shift from learning the game and having fun while in "youth sports" to more "win! Win! WIN!" from the coaches when he got into middle school. Quote
Jays Posted June 4 Posted June 4 4 hours ago, Shoot_The_Hands said: So I have to follow the rules of the game but the umpire doesn't have to... Agreed, the umps behind the plate should have a very similar zone at the high school level. When an ump opens the zone in youth league, that's a win-win for everyone. There is a shortage of umps and refs, but if you're umping you must understand the rules. For instance, earlier this year.... A ball hit in the air down the 3rd base line is going foul. The shortstop drives trying to catch the ball and the ball comes out of his glove (in foul territory). Nothing is signaled and time is called. The umps meet and say fair ball, 1 run scores and give the batter 1st base. Coach appeals and the ump said, "it's fair because the fielders' feet were in fair territory when he touched the ball."😐🫣 Quote
Muda69 Posted June 4 Posted June 4 For the last couple of years I've been taking a weekend trip to Illinois in July for a family get together/reunion. Have been staying at a hotel that always seems to be filled with obnoxious parents and kids from travel baseball or softball teams. There must be some kind of sports complex nearby............................. Quote
Impartial_Observer Posted June 4 Author Posted June 4 5 hours ago, Shoot_The_Hands said: So I have to follow the rules of the game but the umpire doesn't have to... Sometimes. 1 Quote
BtownBraves Posted June 4 Posted June 4 On 6/3/2026 at 3:22 PM, CoachK5 said: This will be an interesting topic as it moves forward. I too hate what the travel sport teams are doing too the kids. It's never their fault, the ump (official) screwed us, me our team...... Like IO says, adapt to how the game is being called. The part about it never being their fault drives me up a wall. Seems to me like especially the last 5-6 years it has gotten way worse. Watch any college basketball game, the moment a ref calls a foul on a player, he either a) throws his hands up and looks at the ref in disbelief or, b) goes over and tries to argue the call with the ref. He’s already made the call bud, just accept it and move on! Not singling out college bball by any means. I’m sure it happens in all sports more now than it used to, but for me I always notice it more with basketball. Quote
Sparty Posted June 5 Posted June 5 3 hours ago, BtownBraves said: The part about it never being their fault drives me up a wall. Seems to me like especially the last 5-6 years it has gotten way worse. Watch any college basketball game, the moment a ref calls a foul on a player, he either a) throws his hands up and looks at the ref in disbelief or, b) goes over and tries to argue the call with the ref. He’s already made the call bud, just accept it and move on! Not singling out college bball by any means. I’m sure it happens in all sports more now than it used to, but for me I always notice it more with basketball. Pro football ain’t far behind. Quote
Bash Riprock Posted June 5 Posted June 5 On 6/4/2026 at 10:26 AM, Shoot_The_Hands said: So I have to follow the rules of the game but the umpire doesn't have to... Feels like a victim mentality. Plenty of options, including becoming an official. Life sometimes just isn't fair....adapt and move forward Quote
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