Youth Umpires- Things to keep in mind

We just wanted to take the opportunity to explain to you our use of youth umpires.

As you know, we are a recreational Tball/Baseball/Softball organization.

Our organization’s mission statement reads “The purpose of the Howell Area Junior Baseball Association is to promote good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, respect for authority, and an appreciation of the game of Baseball/Softball among the young people of the Howell Michigan Area”.

Many years ago, the HAJBA board made the decision to utilize youth umpires. These youth umpires are used for all divisions of Baseball and Softball. (T-Ball games do not have umpires)

Each season, we train approximately 80 children in the “art” of umpiring.

These kids must be at least 11 years of age, and we prefer them to have at least 2 seasons of baseball/softball playing experience.

Each umpire goes through approximately 4 hours of “in class” training, as well as 2 hours of “on field” mechanics training.

As part of this training, each umpire much also pass a 100 question umpire test, to help ensure that they have a solid understanding of the rules for the divisions that they will be umpiring for.

Once they have completed the above requirements, they are eligible to umpire for us.

First year youth umpires are limited to umpiring in the “lower” divisions, such as Bantam Baseball and Softball.

Second year youth umpires are limited to umpiring in the Bantam and Midget divisions.

Third year and up youth umpires have the ability to umpire in the Bantam, Midget, Minor and Major Baseball and Softball divisions.

Based on the skill and experience of a youth umpire, the above “limits” as to what divisions they can umpire for may be adjusted by the Umpire in Chief.

At no time should a youth umpire work a game in a division that they are currently playing in. For example, if a youth umpire is on a HAJBA Minor Baseball team, they will not be allowed to umpire a game in this division.

Also, if an umpire has a sibling playing on a HAJBA team, they will not be permitted to umpire any of their games.

These “rules” are in place to avoid the appearance of a “conflict of interest” where the umpire is concerned.

Due to the nature of our programs, our youth umpire will most likely know at least one, or more players or coaches, from each team during a game they are umpiring for. Since we are a community based program, this is to be expected. We stress to our umpires the importance of maintaining “neutrality” where the calling of a game is concerned, no matter who they know from each team.

Please keep these things in mind where youth umpires are concerned:

1)       At no time, should you as a parent, spectator, or coach, approach the umpire in a threatening way, or make any derogatory comments related to any judgment calls made by the umpire. If an umpire reports this type of behavior to us, this will be considered a violation of our Code of Conduct, and further action related to it will be taken by the HAJBA board.

2)       These youth umpires should be treated with the same respect that you would expect to receive.

3)       Our umpires will make calls on the field that you will disagree with. If you accept this going into the game, you will not be surprised when it occurs. These umpires do the best job that they can, but with that being said, they will make calls that you will not agree with. Learn to “live with it” without verbally abusing the umpire.

4)       One of the most common complaints we receive concerning our youth umpires is their “Strike Zone”. Please understand that the umpires are doing the best they can to call a consistent strike zone. With that being said, some of their strike zones may not be consistent. Once again, they are youth umpires, and learn more from each game they work. Our hope is that they will get better with each game they work, and establish a more consistent strike zone as they gain additional experience. Our suggestion is to have your batters be “Aggressive” at the plate and be ready to swing at any “close” pitches.

The use of youth umpires allows us to “keep our costs down” from an organizational perspective as well.

These are the pay rates for our umpires:

Bantam Baseball - $14 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

Midget Baseball - $17 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

Minor Baseball - $20 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

Major Baseball - $30 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

Bantam Softball - $14 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

Midget Softball - $17 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

Minor Softball - $20 per game per umpire (2 umpires per game)

If at any time you have a question related to our youth umpires, please contact our Umpire In Chief. Their contact information can be found at http://www.howellbaseball.org/contact.htm.