I am 17, have been playing baseball and softball for 10 years. In the last 12 months i have taken up umpiring as well. I am curious as to how many players, in particular younger players, take up umpiring in their teens. I am from Australia and I have noticed that a lot of our umpires began at a very young age. For instance, umpiring at 14U state champs, we had an umpire running around who was only 9yo. So, could anyone who umpires shed some light on this for me? How many younger umpires are around? And do you umpire because you enjoy it, or out of nessecity?
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A 9 Y/O umpiring a 14U State? Not saying it isn't true, but that is hard to believe.
I also find that hard to believe. It certainly wouldn't happen here in the states. We do have a lot of teenage umpires, but the majority of them don't do serious travel ball games.
Our local NSA requires the umpire be at least 4 years older than the teams playing.
I started umping when I was 16. I did young JO fastpitch. It was out of enjoyment, not necessity; however, $28/game looks pretty good to a 16-year-old for 2 hours (max) of work.
9 YO kids can't even read in the U.S. j/k
Do you guys tend to struggle to get enough umpires to cover games? I mean where I'm from it's not unusual for a game not to have an umpire 10mins before start time, some unsuspecting parent or spectator gets pulled in and often the game suffers as a result of an umpire who doesnt know the rules
I've had some umpires that I would gladly swap out for a 9 year old.
Years ago I trained the umpires in our organization. First off they had to be at least 14 and were not allowed to ump in games that they had a brother or sister in or in their own age division. They had to attend 3 two hour classes and one on field mechanics class. Then they had to take an open book test and score at least 90%. My main policy was that everyone will blow calls on the field but blowing a rule was almost unforgivable. 14 is a good age for a player to start umping. By that age they should be smart enough to learn the rules and mature enough so that they shouldn't be intimidated by coaches. I would reward the better umps with tournament games where they could make over $100 in two days. This was 20 years ago.
- Oct 19, 2009
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Wow. I started umping little league and tee ball games when I was 14. Got $5 bucks behind the plate and $3 in the field - and liked it! Then when I was 16 I got to do Babe Ruth games and deal with teenage attitude for the real big money - $10! I must be a little older than you!
