How did you...

[BRUMP]

Ok so time for a Friday funny topic. How did you first become an umpire?

I'll start. I umpired my first game at age 13. I played for fun but I wasn't that good. When I stopped playing I wanted to be involved with the game and I saw a flyer at my local Little League asking for umpires. So I joined. And then from there I umpired 2 years for a little league UIC and then our group was absorbed by an association and I'm with that association for 2 years and counting.

[Jocko]

I started while my son was playing park ball. Being very literal minded, I pored through the Dixie rule book to be sure I knew how to coach according to the rules. Several games into the season, I protested a call by the umpire on an appeal play. R3 missed the plate, R2 scored behind him. R3 retouched and I appealed the miss. HP called him safe. Obviously, I was correct. HP asked me if I would like to call games. I said sure. The rest is, as they say, history.

[JaxRolo]

I umpired for a few years back in the mid 90's. A group called B.L.U.E. I enjoyed it very much but one year the man in charge gave it up is we all went our own ways. I quit Umpiring. About 3 years ago me and my wife took our new puppy to a nearby park so she could run around (the puppy). It was baseball field and there wasn't a sould in sight but us. I told my wife that I might like to start Umpiring again and left it at that. The very next day on the localradio sprts station I heard an advertisement from an association looking for Umpires. I called them. Without any type of training they threw me out there to do the plate at a HS Scrimmage game.

This fall I will be going into my 4th year back as an Umpire. Now I wish I had never quit in the first place.!

[carolinablue]

Ok, I'll admit it.......I used to be a coach dad but I wasn't much of a Rat as compared to some I see. I coached my son untill he made the HS. team and then backed off but wanted to still be active in the game so I started umpiring. Truth is, I have a 9YO. son and am contemplated returning to the dark side but this time I'll be a much, much better coach.

[th3]

when my daughter (now a sophmore in college) played 2d grade softball, the coaches umped each others games...I enjoyed it, and was on the league board, so there were plenty of opportunities to help out..i did that while coaching both kids for the next 6 or 7 years and started to do 20-30 games a year of paid youth and slow picth softball...when they stopped playing (and my business declined), jumping right in for the extra cash was a natural step, and baseball became my preferred sport..im at aound 140 baseball, 10 softball, 5 soccer and 5 volleyball games in '12

[hckyosgood30]

I started when I was 14 in Jr High school. The school I went to required you to have a certain amount of hours of work experience and community service before you graduated. I saw all of my friends scrubbing dishes and what not. Then I found out I could umpire, once my volunteer hours where done I started getting paid. It kept me in the game I loved. Once in college I became a part of the local HS association and was told I was pretty good so I should keep it up. I have taken their advice thus far and never regreted a second of it.

[LMSANS]

I started when I was 13. My grandfather started the local LL, umpired since the 1930's.

My uncle was the UIC, my brother & cousin were older than me and both started at 13. See my avatar. I worked 2 or 3 years but I was playing every place I could and didn't have time for umpiring. 35 years later, I went to my nephew's ms game and there was one umpire and he was late, so I tried to find out how to become an umpire. My brother & cousin had just retired, so I had a lot of free equipment.

They came out of retirement this year to work a charity game. I got a big kick out of it and had the chance to work with 2 of the best umpires ever.

Larry Sansevere

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[James Walker]

I started in my freshman year of HS. Had a gf, needed money to take her out on dates. Asked the UIC of the park what I needed to do to be an umpire. He told me, be here at 6 tomorrow. First game I worked was a 14u game. Hardest game I've ever done seeing as I was 15 and had played ball the year before with a lot of the kids I umped that game. Didn't go well (story for another time/place), but I was hooked. Was a smitty for a couple years, found this fourm, and now I'm really hooked.

[JHSump]

What is really different about starting out now --- as opposed to when I started --- is the availability of the internet, a website like this, the ability to talk with experienced umpires, lots of information, equipment online,...Wow, what a difference.

I started back in the stone ages. The rulebook was all we had, and it was on stone tablets. Fred was my UIC, Barney my first partner. My indicator was a bird that was always complaining when I advanced his little wheels.

But, to answer the OP question, "Fred" asked me --- as former HS player in town, and now playing in college --- if I wanted to umpire in the local 13-15 year-old league. I was interested, and so he gave me a blue t-shirt with the letters "UMPIRE" printed on it (so people would not get confused by my cutoff shorts and sneakers), and told me the balloon protector, shin guards, mask, and wisk broom would be in a duffel bag at the field. See you there!

[mstaylor]

Like JHS I started in the stone age, 1975. I was the big brother getting pulled out of the stands. I found I enjoyed it and got good at it. I was 17 when I started doing LL. Stan and I have many times said we wished we had had the internet when we started. I had no training, no rulebook, nothing. Once I started training I got into HS, then college. It has been a fun 37 yrs.

[scrounge]

Like many others, I coached (rec league in my case) for many years, but once the kids got too old or found other interests, I turned to umpiring a couple years ago and haven't looked back since. Really enjoyed it, stayed in the game but from a totally new perspective. Enjoyed the entire officiating subculture and now do football and basketball as well.

Technically, I started when I was 16, as a way of earning a bit of extra money. No training, they just gave me a mask and an outside protector and said have at it. My youth umpiring career lasted 3 games - a fat, pot-bellied coach didn't like a call and came charging in from 3rd base, knocking me backwards. Small town 27 years ago, nothing happened to the guy. Gave it up right there and then, until my belated return.

[Umpire in Chief]

I refereed soccer from the time I was 15 or so until my senior year in college. I liked it fine. I had fun, did well l got good assignments, no complaints. But I always looked at it as a job. Fast forward 8 years or so I needed a second income, things weren't doing financially well at home. I needed the second income that would work well with the demands of my primary job. So I thought I would return to soccer. My old association still had me in the system and told me they would be glad to have me back, but I'd have to start at the bottom and I was fine with that. Then they told me of the physical abilities test. I don't remember the exact requirements but they wanted me to run 2 miles in a a time I knew I couldn't do. So I let them know I wouldn't be there for the test.

I was telling this story to my best friend from High School (SunDevil#71) he told me to get into umpiring. I told him no at the time because I was an awful baseball player and thought I would be equally bad as an umpire. I didn't start that season, but he finally talked me into it the next season. So I started umpiring for the wrong reasons -money but I started to really get into it. And while I was horrible at it I was developing a passion for it and I wasn't going to let it get the better of me.

But it was that passion which separated refereeing soccer from umpiring. I never had a passion for it the way I did umpiring.

I got a new job and was not in need of the extra income as much as I once did, but I stuck with the umpiring because I just enjoyed it.

[Dannytheman]

My oldest son started playing ball at the age of 6. My job at the time limited my available hours to see him play. But I wanted to help the league out and asked what I could do to help. They needed umpires, I was a older retired catcher, so I accepted. I worked a game on Saturday, then 2 games on Saturday, then 3 games on Saturday. As my job changed so did my umpiring. My hours changed and I had to work Saturdays, so I had off on Sunday and Tuesdays. I passed a PIAA test and started working Middle school games on a 90 by myself on Tuesdays, then American Legion ball and some others. The foillowing year I worked High School and a Community College league. My hours changed once again, and I was away from umpiring for a couple years. The I got back into LL and that is where I stay. For the last 6 years I have had the privledge of working from home, so my league is 2 minutes away. I am UIC there and we have a nice "club" of volunteers that I teach and evaluate. We have a mentor/mentee program for the young guys coming up. In my county there are only 2 Volunteer Umpire groups left, I am happy to be one.

I love the game, and never see it not being part of my life. As I retire(IF) I intend to move south and make additional funds working games for their extended seasons.

[UmpTTS43]

Couldn't catch, couldn't throw, couldn't hit. Hell, I even fell off of the bench. Passion for the game led me to umpiring.

Thanks to Coach Ronken for teaching me the philosophies and strategies of America's Pastime.

[KLAH316]

About 12 years ago, I was coaching JR High Baseball and the guy in charge of the umpires asked me during a game is I wanted to umpire a 9th grade game. I did the bases and enjoyed it for a season. Several years later, I was elected to my LL Board of Directors and nobody wanted the UIC job so I took it. Started doing LL games and then moved on to working for a few different assignors and here we are!!

[NCAAump2]

I started when I was 12, working games for my school districts athletic association working 4th grade and below games for like $15 a game, which to me at the time was awesome. I then started working at the complex where I played when I was 14, and the money was a little better. For a HS kid, $10/hr is pretty dang good. After being down there a couple years, I ended up meeting some guys who were in the local HS and college group and they suggested I joined. Called my first HS game when I was actually still in high school, and I was definitely a smitty for a while. Once I realized it was something I loved doing and wanted to advance as far as I possibly could, I bought all the equipment and uniforms I needed, started going to meetings and now, at the ripe old age of 26, am working a predominantly HS varsity, JUCO, and Division III schedule, summer ball, and all the travel ball tournaments I want. The sky's the limit, and I'm headed there.

[cyclonehokiece]

Back in 2001, in the dot bomb mini recession, the only job a 14 year old with no transportation but a bike could get was being an umpire for the recreation department (school district), all called from behind the pitcher. Did that for 2 years and took a year off, then went to my city's recreation league where we got a little more training, did 2 man (or woman, plenty of young girls helping out as well). My supervisor (who I already knew through my father) saw I was standing out above most of the others, and when I asked him about possibly moving up now that I was turning 18, directed me to my first umpire association, who had an intense 8 week training regimen (lots of gym work since you don't want to be outside in Wisconsin in January, February, and most of March) and started doing HS and travel ball, and the rest is history with the moving from WI to IA to VA.

[johnnyg08]

Needed money and coaching wasn't paying the bills for the time required. Got into umpiring and never looked back. Begged for proper training and some quality, veteran umpires, who owed me nothing, took me under their wings and taught me how to do things correctly.

[amarillo]

I was at home from college and my dad was calling games. Figured it would be a good way to spend time with him. Fast forward a decade and he retired I was once again calling ball so he got back into it to spend time with me.

[Jocko]

I was at home from college and my dad was calling games. Figured it would be a good way to spend time with him. Fast forward a decade and he retired I was once again calling ball so he got back into it to spend time with me.

very cats in the cradle