The Self Aware Crew Chief
I own two cars. They are completely different from each other in size, features, functionality, and usefulness. Neither is necessarily better nor worse than the other. Each serves a particular purpose and, when used properly, is extremely effective.
My Chevy Traverse is a big SUV one step smaller than a full-sized Suburban. It has a powerful V-6 engine, six-speed automatic transmission, satelite radio, modular seats, and very comfortable ride. It seats six comfortably; eight in a pinch. It also has a backup sensor which beeps at me depending on how close I am to something while in reverse.
My Scion xD is a small, four cylinder stick shift. It has more miles on it than the Traverse. It also doesn’t have a backup sensor. I normally don’t drive this one, but out of necessity I recently switched.
Both cars are similar to umpire crews to which I can be assigned. Sometimes I’m on the Traverse crew. We are experienced people with plenty of knowledge, understanding, and power. Maybe a little beat up by the ravages of time, and perhaps I need to vacuum all the pebbles out the back. Maybe a little lumbering and akward and slow because of our size, but we all know our jobs and get them done in the right time.
Sometimes I’m part of the Scion crew. We have a regular radio and no backup sensor so I have to pay attention a little differently. We have a smaller turn radius and are a little quicker out of the gate because the engine has some zip to it. Often getting started is a pain. I can forget I’m driving a stick.
The Traverse crew works well on intense, high level games. Softball at the Division 1 & 2 levels is difficult on the easy days and an unconsolable small child who wants a green lolipop instead of an orange on the bad days.
The Traverse crew doesn’t function quite the same on lower level games because we can be too focused for the situation. It’s easy to run over a game with rules. There are unspoken times when we as umpires ignore certain things and let the game happen. The Traverse crew struggles with this concept at times.
The Scion crew gets eaten alive if used too hard. It’s not built for the grinding nature of four or more straight hours of burning heat, flying dirt, raw emotion, and intense situation followed by screaming and yelling before another intense situation creates more screaming and yelling.
The Scion crew works well on lower level games because the lower energy and skill level allow for great learning opportunities. The Scion crew is made for this. It doesn’t process info quite as quickly. It still gets the job done just not at the rate and effciency of the Traverse crew.
It’s my job as the crew chief to know my crew, the game, the players, the coaches, and my role on it. Pesonal self awareness helps me know how to guide the crew to support each other. That might means shutting down a coach before she gets too wound up over nothing because she’s more mad at her team than us, or maybe I know we just screwed up, and I’m letting the coach have a piece of me so we can survive.
Sometimes that means letting my partner eat his own call because I can’t fix this one, or he’s a big boy and can explain his way out of his own mess.
That’s what self awareness boils down to. Objective assessment of the situation and the courage to handle business. This could mean after the game as we are changing back into our civilian clothes I pull a partner aside and gently tell them to get their head straight. Certain mistakes can’t happen.
Sometimes after a particularly well played and well worked game, our post game is little more than dinner and travel plans. Planes don’t wait for us, and I still have to do laundry.
