So my son get's a job.....

This week my youngest son began his first paying job. Being an advit baseball fan he decided that he wanted to umpire Little league games. This is the first year that he is eligible to do this as he just turned 13 and now plays on the big field. He went to the Little League office and received some instruction and was also given a ball's and strike counter, similar to the one in the picture. Being the good Dad that I am, I showed up at his first game to give him some support. Being only 13 they always pair up the kid's with a "professional" umpire. The umpiring crews do a very good job in my town. With this pairing, the kid's cover first and second base, while the Head umpire call's, ball's, strike's and foul balls. No coaches are allowed to argue a call (you would be surprised how many do !) and for the most part this rule is followed. The Jr umpire is expected to keep track of ball's and strikes in case the Head umpire losses track or a coach asks for the count. That is why my son was given the counter. He showed it to me and mentioned that the knobs were a bit stiff. I agreed but stated that they worked well enough.

He did a great job at his first game, called every play correct and even had a very close call at the end of the game which he made a clear, strong and correct call. I was very proud. After the game he came over to the house and told me about how everything went. After he was done he again stated that the counter was a little stiff, this time adding that he thought it would be best if he bought a new one (can you see where this one is headed?). Well I agreed, I told him now that he earned $20 dollars for the game, if he wanted to spend part of his earnings on a new counter to make his job easier "I fully encourage you to do it".

His reaction was "You mean I have to pay for it myself"?

So let's get this straight I said , you want me to buy you a new counter when the other one works just fine so that you can do your job easier. You earn money, if you want a new counter pay for it yourself.

So far no new counter has been purchased. You have to give him credit for trying, and I must admit I was laughing on the inside. I expect him to continue with his umpiring duties, whether a new counter will be purchased or not I am not sure, but I will keep you posted.