First and foremost, we must realize that in Youth Baseball, our primary goal must be to teach the kids the game and mentor them in a positive and encouraging environment, and this includes the kids involved in our Youth Umpire Program. Even the pros make erroneous calls, so you can be sure that you will see them in Youth Baseball. Remember that rule 1.00 states, "Baseball is a game…", and it most certainly is just that – a game. Although many people may think otherwise, there aren't really as many bad calls as you might think. Most of the static we hear in regards to judgment calls surrounds the strike zone, but we simply cannot employ a strict Major League strike zone for 10-year olds. If we did, we would be playing "Walk-Ball" and nobody would be learning how to hit.
Many of the umpires working these youth games are learning as well, so please be patient, kind and tolerant – especially with our Youth Umpires - as umpiring a baseball game is not as easy as it might appear.
All our umpires go through extensive training in both the rules of the game and the mechanics of umpiring, but the only way to become really consistent at it is through practical application.
This takes time & experience (usually 50 to 100 games), practice, lots of rules and mechanics clinics, and last but not least - maturity.
If you are a manager or coach, I highly recommend that you not only attend rule clinics each year, but that you umpire at least one or two games per month during the season as well. The reasoning behind this is two-fold. First, everyone needs to be on the same plane when it comes to rule interpretations. Attending rule clinics every season insures that you are up on any rule changes and interpretation revisions - as well as the standard ones. You will get practice on applying them during game situations when you umpire. This will help you become a more knowledgeable manager or coach, as well as gaining an increased understanding as to exactly what it is that the umpires are looking for under varying circumstances. You will also be helping out the league by volunteering as an umpire for one or two games every month or so.
Second, you will learn strategies that will prove invaluable during the game. For instance, most coaches never see when a runner misses a base. Just this last 2004 season during a tournament playoff game, the losing team could have altered the outcome of the one inning in which the opposing team's players missed bases three different times. Yet nobody ever appealed that the runner missed the base on any of the three occasions. Instead of a 3-run inning, the opposing team scored 7 runs that inning, which resulted in them winning by 4 runs when the score could have been tied.
The league is always looking for umpires, so if you can volunteer some of your time, or wish to become one of our regular umpires, please fill out our online Umpire Application and provide us with the requested information. We will add you to our contact list.