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have the parents go up and say my son is quiting if you dont knock it off just let him know that you are not going to have him acting this way in front of the kids and let him know that if he keeps it up you will toss him or ask him after the game to please keep it at a minimum for the kids to enjoy the game more With a firm, confident, yet respectful warning that the complaining needs to stop!
And then be prepared to eject him or her if this doesn't stop the situation. Throw him out!!! yes he should throw him out if he has any obscene or bad language The best way to shut him up is to burn him on a rule. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how or what he's complaining about. Most of the time, these guys (youth coaches) really don't know the rules of baseball and get just a little too competitive. They're also getting pressure from the parents of the kids. Other coaches do it to knock you off your game hoping to get a call their way.
Try this, next time a coach complains about something he shouldn't be arguing about (i.e. judgment calls) have a little discussion with him between innings. Let him know what the rule is and that you'd don't appreciate the "comments" he's making because it's teaching bad sportsmanship and undermining your authority of calling the game. The purpose of this is that most youth league coaches get young and/or inexperienced umpires and letting him know that you know the rules and that you aren't going to put up with his BS in a polite but firm manner is a good way to shut him up. It's also serving him notice that more comments could get him kicked out.
If his "comments" continue, give him a warning and/or restrict him to the dugout. Usually this just ticks them off more and the more "high-strung" coaches just do it even more. At that point you have no choice but to toss him. You've given him/her the opportunity to straighten up but they've escalated the situation, not you. Most coaches don't want this to happen because if it happens too much, they can't coach anymore and they'll shut up.
Just to give you a situation I was in for relevance. I was working behind the plate for a high school game. The catcher would set up way outside and the pitch would go straight in the mitt way outside. I'd call "ball" and the coach would say from the dugout, "Come on, Blue. Call it right!" Well, I knew damn well that's what he wanted because he was calling the pitches, not the catcher. After the third time he complained, the fans started getting restless because to them, it was a perfect strike (in their minds a catcher wouldn't purposely set up way outside). I simply called time, took off my mask and told the him, "That's enough, Coach!" That shut him up for the rest of the game in regards to arguing ball and strikes. Those three simple words let him know the next time he'd be tossed. High school coaches have a lot more to lose because getting tossed could lead to sanctions, suspensions, etc. I was a bit firmer with this coach because he knew the rule about arguing balls and strikes and I needed to shut him down quick. Add to the fact that he was creating the basis for the argument on purpose by calling the outside pitch and I was fully justified in issuing a warning immediately.
The main thing that you need to do is KNOW THE RULES!!! If you toss a coach you'd better to be able to document it well because it'll be required for any ejection. Be detailed in your report because the first call the coach is going to make is the Officials Secretary to plead his case first. This is not to say that the OS will believe his story, but rest assured that the OS will question you about the ejection. The last thing that the OS wants is a bunch of rogue umpires working for the association.
Best of luck. Depends how and why he is complaining. Is he complaining about a non-judgement call in a generally respectful way, nothing you should do about it. As an ump you need to be able to ignore that stuff. But if he's causing a scene, being rude or crude, warn him once, then toss him.
I was a Little League ump for 10 years and had coached who complained and even argued all the time.
One thing I did and tell umps who ump games I know coach is to listen to the coach then respectfully tell him your opinion then turn away to end it. If he comes back at you warn him... then toss em.
If they don't cross the threshold of getting ejected you have to be the bigger man. But if they do get out of control...toss em. I umpired for years, and ran into that type of situation now and then.
Once it gets to the point where you've heard enough, go over and talk to him. Tell him that the nonsense must stop, or else you'll forced to eject him from the game. Although he'll probably be even more angered, it usually works.
If it continues, give him the thumb. He was warned. Yes, he'll probably go off on another rant, but most of the time he'll leave after a couple of minutes.
If he doesn't, it's time for the stopwatch, and a threat to forfeit the game if he doesn't leave the field. It seldom goes that far, but if it does, be prepared to do it.
Forfeiture of the game is only done as a last resort. It's totally unfair to the kids who came to play. But the person at fault is the childish coach, not the umpire. Believe it or not, and this from a career of umpiring from 1989 to 2006 (this year off due to job change and knee problem) it is the same in pee-wee through the bigs. Dump them and continue. They will say the fans are not there to watch you and I reply they are not here to watch you anymore either. buh-bye!
OK alittle off the wall but ejections are warranted more often than they are given. Think about it. one thing i'd recommend not doing is going over during the middle of the inning and shutting him up. don't walk to him during the inning. if he spats off after one bad call you might point at him and say "one more word and your gone!!" if your behind the plate. stay behind the plate but remove the mask.
not sure exactly what age this is but he's possibly one of these volunteer daddy coaches that really don't know the game real well but he might be trying to fire up his team. when I played if my coach was hollaring at the ump it seemed to always fire us up and get us trying harder. hopefully he's sensible enough to know its just a little kids game and no one really gives a rats *** what happens but if he's taking it that over board don't hesitate to eject him b/c he might be a loser Having been an umpire at levels from little league to high school, the first thing you need to know is how do your league officials support the umpires? Unfortunately, sometimes these coaches have been around so long that the league tends to look the other way when it comes to their behavior. Once you have found out what kind of support you can expect from the league officers, including the supervisor of umpires, ( if they have one) see if they have any sort of code of conduct for coaches. If they do, carry a copy with you if possible, and inform both coaches in the pregame that you expect them to abide by the rules or they will be ejected immediately without warning.
I have found that many of the problems that arise with coaches are really more misunderstandings then anything else. This is why spending a few minutes before the game with the coaches of both teams is so important. Explain the ground rules, particularly what parts of the field is "out of play", review the substitution rules, ( in some leagues they are very confusing) and remind them again of your expectations regarding their behavior. Wish them both luck, but avoid silly sayings like "may the best team win".
The only thing that ever really bothered me was when a player or coach tried to "show me up". For instance, if a catcher asked me why a pitch was called a ball, I would tell him, but I didn't want him turning his head to ask me. The worse thing that can happen to an umpire at any level is to have a player or coach manage to get the crowd turned against him. If a coach has a question about a ruling, calmly explain it to him, as there are a lot of coaches out there who certainly are well meaning, but don't always understand fairly basic rules.
Above all, show the coaches and players the respect that you wish to receive from them. Make sure you hustle to get into the proper position to make the call, and above all, make your calls very clear.
If you do these things, you will find that most coaches will tend to cut you a little more slack. If a particular coach seems to have it in for you, go to the league president and explain in a calm manner exactly the problems you are having with this coach, and ask him to intervene. The umpires in our league do not tolarate disrespect.
After one warning most noisy, complaining coaches are not only tossed from the game but are suspended from the following game. (this is in our league playing rules)
Elaine I have been umping Little and Legion ball since I was 20 (now 39). At first they thought cause I was young I'd put up with crap. Two weeks into my first gig I had had enough, I ran two coaches and a parent in two days and everything calmed down. I didn't get rude just informed them all they had been tossed and if they didn't leave the field their respective teams would forfeit.
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