Crew of Officials

Umpires, Scorekeepers & Supervisors

As the Ball Program evolved over the years, we completed the transition from having somewhat biased adult "volunteers" umpiring the games to employing youth as umpires, scorekeepers and supervisors.  It proved to be a very successful opportunity for youth to gain confidence, develop self-esteem, interact with others (i.e. players, coaches, & parents) and work as part of a team, i.e. our Crew of Officials.

The officials dealt with people of all ages as they made on-the-spot decisions in a never-ending array of situations while earning some pocket money for doing so. (Note: In the 2023 season, with performance bonuses, the Crew earned over $8,000.)  With support from their trainers, the Ball Program's executive, Supervisors, and Sportsmanship Managers, the officials were also empowered to have fun!  No prior experience was necessary to join the Crew but experience was certainly gained quickly!

These photos are from our annual season-ending "Officials" games. Everyone won! 

Games officials: We welcomed applications from youth interested in helping as scorekeepers for our 3-Pitch leagues and/or as umpires or game supervisors. These positions were open to all local youth, no experience necessary; assignments (and responsibilities) were based on interest and experience. Each official's assiignments were done around their other commitments. Based on experience, there were separate training session(s) involved including one on "how to score" for those interested in scoring. New recruits were generally assigned "training" positions in our Junior T-Ball league and "paired" with a returning umpire for training purposes when assigned to work a Senior T-Ball game. It's truly, "learn-as-you-go"!

As these were "paid" positions, there was no option to earn "volunteer" credits. 

The job: Weekday games started at 6:30 PM so officials were required to be at the diamond by 6:15 and help get things ready for the game, e.g. help layout the bases and playing lines, check the lineups, hold a pre-game meeting, etc.  Our officials' duties also involved supervising the post-game "handshake" and meeting with the coaches, as required, to discuss any rules or game situations.  Any game 'issues' had to be reported without delay via the Ramp communication system. .

Each year, there were several training sessions (orientation, rules, etc.) in April of about 2 hours which the officials were required to come prepared for. In addition to enforcing the rules of the game, our officials were expected to get the game started and then keep the game moving.  Our officials were empowered to provide guidance and/or warnings to the players to help them enjoy the game without unnecessary penalties or safety issues. .

Rules for Junior T-Ball, Senior T-Ball & 3 Pitch and several helpful articles for umpires are available through this Articles for Officials link. Persons wishing to umpire for any organization are expected to have read the rules and have a familiarity with them before the training sessions. All participants in our program, including umpires & other officials, were also expected to promote good sportsmanship and sign a contract to that effect. 

For lots of good umpiring information, some of it a little beyond what we call and enforce, a good site to visit is http://www.llumpires.com/