By Randy Corwin
The definition of mentor is: a trusted adviser or guide who shares their knowledge and experience with others, especially those who are younger or less experienced.
Although I didn’t take up umpiring until I was in my 50s, I learned the basics in training classes run by my town’s recreational baseball league, which were attended by about 30 kids between the ages of 13 and 16, and me. The classes were taught by a retired high school umpire who wanted to mentor others interested in umpiring. After attending a handful of classes, I worked games in the town league where I had coached my kid’s teams for 10 years.
Having played baseball for many years in my youth, and having coached, I thought umpiring would be easy, until I found myself utterly terrified the first time I got behind the plate working a game for 10-12-year-olds. Despite taking training classes, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and could have used some on-field mentoring from someone who knew what they were doing. Remember, I was 50 years old when I started. I couldn’t even imagine how scary it must have been for a 13-year-old thrust into this position. After a few rough games while learning on the fly, I improved. When the training class instructor resigned, I was asked to run my town’s youth umpire program, which I did for 10 years. During this time, I took additional training and became a member of the Central Massachusetts Baseball Umpires Association (CMBUA), which I have been a member of since 2011.
Over the years, I developed a comprehensive youth umpire training manual and certification test. Passing this test would earn youth umpires the designation of becoming “patched.” Although the training manual I developed was very good, we all know that you don’t become a competent umpire by reading manuals. You become competent by working games. I made it a priority to also work games with the newer 13-14-year-old umpires. Whether the young umpire was on the plate or the bases with me working the other position, we’d talk pre-game, between innings, and post-game about their mechanics, positioning, what went well, and what might have been done differently. In many cases, the improvement and level of confidence I would see in some of these new umpires from the beginning to the end of a game was amazing.
While classroom training is important, without a doubt, new umpires got far more out of spending two hours on the field working an actual game with me than the classroom training. Although most of the young umpires I worked with over the years didn’t continue umpiring once they went to college, a small percentage have continued and are now excellent high school umpires and members of my umpiring group. I feel good knowing I’ve made a positive contribution to their lives.
In recent years, the number of umpires all over the country that have resigned has led to a severe shortage of umpires at both the youth and high school level. With the goal of reversing this trend, helping young people to develop an interest in umpiring, and working with them to become competent, confident umpires will ensure that the pipeline of new umpires to replace umpires who are resigning or retiring will keep flowing.
As established umpires, we owe it to the next generation of umpires to help guide them, advise them and share our experience with them. Please check with the communities you umpire in and ask if they have a youth umpire program. If they do, offer to help as a mentor. Next to being a dad, it has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.
Randy Corwin is a veteran Massachusetts youth and high school umpire, and author of the book, “OBNOXIOUS PARENTS and RUTHLESS COACHES” (Tales of Adults Taking Youth Baseball Way Too Seriously). For more information about the book or to read his blog about how overly competitive adults are ruining youth sports, please visit his website, www.obnoxiousparentsruthlesscoaches.com
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