Youth Umpire Equipment

[johnnyg08]

Fellas,

 

 

To those of you in charge of youth umpire organizations....

 

If you have gear at the field for youth umpires to use:

 

How do you store it?

 

What gear do you provide at the field/complex?

 

What gear do you require the umpires to purchase/acquire on his/her own?

 

We're trying to think through if this is a good idea to have some gear at the field for young umpires who are just trying to get started umpiring.

 

Thanks!!

[BigUmpire]

When I took over there was a pile of old crappy gear in our umps room.

I recycled as much as I could BUT I believe an umpire should have his own gear SOOOOO.

I started a program where we would give a $100.00 gift card from the local umpire shop to each young person that came to orientation AND attended one full day of clinics. I drew up a contract they had to sign. The $100.00 was deducted from this umpires game fees until were even.

I also gathered old equipment from our vets. I cleaned, repaired and passed down to the new babies. I also cruised Ebay and made some great off season purchases. I actually found 6 pair of new Spotbilt OS 95s!

WE started with 8 new umpires and have retained 4 this year.

I have selected 4 great young umpires and put all of my game calling fees in a pot to buy or replace any equipment these 4 guys need ($1,800.00 so far).

All of my 4 guys have NCAA div 1 quality gear, WG Golds, NB460s, high end masks NOW with Team Wendy pads ETC.

My program is more of a personal sponsorship program.

It has produced 4 VERY good young umpires.

This is still a work in progress.

[Maineac]

Fellas,

 

 

To those of you in charge of youth umpire organizations....

 

If you have gear at the field for youth umpires to use:

 

How do you store it?

 

What gear do you provide at the field/complex?

 

What gear do you require the umpires to purchase/acquire on his/her own?

 

We're trying to think through if this is a good idea to have some gear at the field for young umpires who are just trying to get started umpiring.

 

Thanks!!

We have a storage building right at the field, which is secured but the umpires have the code. During the season we store all the gear in the building, along with game balls. When not being used it is hanging on hooks.

 

We provide just about everything our young umpires need, all of which was bought this spring. I cleaned house this spring and got rid of stuff that had been in there literally for decades by the looks of it (my first season doing this). The league then sprung for 3 full sets of new gear this year, which includes Diamond Featherweight umpire masks, Champion P220's, and Diamond iX3 shin guards. We also provide brushes, indicators and ball bags. About the only thing the umpires are required to get on their own are protective cups.

 

It has worked great for us. I made it part of the preseason training session we had. What to wear, how to wear it, why the mask should be worn loosely, etc. From what I've seen so far it was the right thing to do. Once the season is done, it will be brought inside, cleaned and stored properly.

[bluegorilla]

 BigUmpire , a tip of my 4 stitch to you sir !

[kylejt]

I've got an umpire changing room at our faclilty. It has a big rack for hanging clothes, shelves for stowing gear bags, and a large closet for hardware

 

I've three Champions, a Wilson charcoal, and a Douglas for chest protectors. Lots of shin guards of various sizes. A few masks, and a HSM. Lots of pants, and a ton of shirts and jackets.

 

I've got plate shoes in sizes from 8 - 13, and a bunch of base shoes.

 

I've got a box of brushes and indicator, and clips that hold 7.13 flags. Those all have a tendancy to migrate in back pockets.

 

I've got "emergency" sliding shorts with cups. You wear it, you wash it and bring it back.

 

The gear comes form various places. Lots are hand me downs from kids who outgrow their stuff. eBay has been a great resource. Adults drop stuff off , when they work at my park. Other stuff I just buy and donate.

[BigUmpire]

I am new to training and mentoring young umpires.

Is the norm on sharing gear?

This was going on in my group before I took over and we theorized that if a person did not "Invest" in their own gear they were not in this for the long haul. We want “buy in†to umpiring.

BUT as I mentioned earlier we fronted some money to new guys.

I tell people that it cost $400-$500 to call you first game if properly equipped.

Don’t expect to make lots of money your first season.

Buy really good gear up front. Cheap =uncomfortable and injuries.

The 4 that really showed interest, (asks tons of questions, had rulebooks that looked worn and were highlighted with notes, would come to watch veterans call when they were not calling) were sponsored by me.

Comments please.

[maninblack69]

I tell people that it cost $400-$500 to call you first game if properly equipped.

Buy really good gear up front. Cheap =uncomfortable and injuries.

 

I agree with you on this part. I'm just getting back into umpiring this year and just getting all the gear and uniforms I'm looking at spending about $600. I will need to invest a little more when fall ball hits, but that's down the road a bit. With that being said, this gear should last quite a while and shouldn't take that many game checks to recoup most of the money. If you're going to put the time and effort into doing it, might as well do it right.

[BT_Blue]

You can go to your local WalMart and pick up a pair of steel toe tennis shoes for like $20-30. Its a good interim for the young'ns if they can't afford plate shoes quite yet.

[johnnyg08]

I am new to training and mentoring young umpires.

Is the norm on sharing gear?

This was going on in my group before I took over and we theorized that if a person did not "Invest" in their own gear they were not in this for the long haul. We want “buy in†to umpiring.

BUT as I mentioned earlier we fronted some money to new guys.

I tell people that it cost $400-$500 to call you first game if properly equipped.

Don’t expect to make lots of money your first season.

Buy really good gear up front. Cheap =uncomfortable and injuries.

The 4 that really showed interest, (asks tons of questions, had rulebooks that looked worn and were highlighted with notes, would come to watch veterans call when they were not calling) were sponsored by me.

Comments please.

 

 

Some of our younger umpires aren't yet sure if umpiring is for them.  For me, it was simple, I knew that I was in for the long haul.  Other guys, just because they don't have the same conviction as me doesn't mean they should be afforded the opportunity to try it out, if they end up liking it, they'll take the initiative to buy their own stuff. 

 

It's tough for me to tell a kid who is 16-18 years old who thinks that he might enjoy umpiring and wants to make some money working a summer job that he's got to drop $500 on gear only to find out that after a few games he just doesn't like it.  

 

I can see your side too, but right now we have a numbers issue so I hate to turn a kid away who wants to try it because he can't or isn't quite ready to drop $500 on gear.

[BigUmpire]

 

I am new to training and mentoring young umpires.

Is the norm on sharing gear?

This was going on in my group before I took over and we theorized that if a person did not "Invest" in their own gear they were not in this for the long haul. We want “buy in†to umpiring.

BUT as I mentioned earlier we fronted some money to new guys.

I tell people that it cost $400-$500 to call you first game if properly equipped.

Don’t expect to make lots of money your first season.

Buy really good gear up front. Cheap =uncomfortable and injuries.

The 4 that really showed interest, (asks tons of questions, had rulebooks that looked worn and were highlighted with notes, would come to watch veterans call when they were not calling) were sponsored by me.

Comments please.

 

 

Some of our younger umpires aren't yet sure if umpiring is for them.  For me, it was simple, I knew that I was in for the long haul.  Other guys, just because they don't have the same conviction as me doesn't mean they should be afforded the opportunity to try it out, if they end up liking it, they'll take the initiative to buy their own stuff. 

 

It's tough for me to tell a kid who is 16-18 years old who thinks that he might enjoy umpiring and wants to make some money working a summer job that he's got to drop $500 on gear only to find out that after a few games he just doesn't like it.  

 

I can see your side too, but right now we have a numbers issue so I hate to turn a kid away who wants to try it because he can't or isn't quite ready to drop $500 on gear.

Hopefully someone on this forum will have an answer for us.

It is dammed expensive to officiate this sport. If I start on the dismal fees we receive I will get hammered BUT the soloist in our church gets $125.00 per Sunday for 1 solo and leading our hymns, 2 hours MAX. No gear, not much training.

 

[Maineac]

I am new to training and mentoring young umpires.

Is the norm on sharing gear?

 

 

It is the norm around here, and it works for us. Before this year they were still sharing gear, but it was crap. Guess you could say we're taking baby steps.

[paynew1993]

At the USSSA complex I call and direct at we don't get a whole lot of brand new guys out because even though it's youth ball it is pretty high level youth ball and most brand new umpires can't keep up with it and we are pretty selective with who we have out on the field. Most of our guys call high school ball either in the local chapter or in chapters not too far from us so they all generally have pretty nice gear. The only time we get someone brand new is if it's someones son who already calls and in that case they usually have enough extra gear lying around that they can make due until they get their own gear. I come from the school of thought though that if you aren't willing to pay your dues and fork up the money up front to buy some decent gear that you probably aren't meant to umpire. I know that sounds harsh but I've found that if you have $500 invested in some gear that you will be much  more likely to take it seriously and become a better umpire than those guys who aren't willing to do the same. Also the veteran umpires are much more willing to help out a new guy and take them under their wing when they are willing to show some initiative and get their own gear before stepping onto the field.