quote:Originally posted by piaa_ump:
how does that help your team? Dont get me wrong, Im all for standing up for your guys...and as an umpire, I will give you your due....but light a fire under your guys in practice or the dugout....
if I suspect you are coming out to put on a show for your fans or players...you wont get the big arguement or the big heave ho.......
"Willing" may have been a poor word choice. "Prepared" to get ejected may work better. My guys will learn from day one to exhaust all options. Putting on a show would be self-absorbed IMO but to stand behind my guys is different (purely based on motive.) I don't want to get tossed, especially for the reasons you outlined. But I do think that when the umpires have the players that far removed from the game, something needs to be done. My goal is to be a proactive coach in all aspects. From strategy to people management.
I'm 25 and this is my first season. Early on a situation came up where I had to protect my players from an irrate citizen. It's a long story and has nothing to do with game officiation, but from that moment I had nothing but respect.
As I said, I'm 25 and I need DIRECTION. Thanks, piaa, for keeping things in perspective.