"letting up" on younger batters

[shane1]

I do alot of games from LL minors up to NAIA. In the LL majors to SR I use a strong strike call. When a 9-10 year old kid steps into the box and he's scared stiff I tend to use less volume on my calls. My thinking is his knees are shaking already and a loud STRIIIKKKEE is just going to shake him up more. If you do youth games you've seen the kid that starts running out of the box before the f1 lets go of the ball. I've seen kids cry while walking to the plate but that's another topic. If I'm PU for JR/SR LL and up I don't change anything. What do you folks do?

[carolinablue]

I use the same mechanics but yes I tone it down a few notches for the little guys.

[SnareDrum]

Ditto w/ carolinablue. I ease up a bit on the vocal, especially the STRIKE 3. While they will grow to learn that the ump CAN be a mean ol' snarling, growling bear... I can be emphatic and empathetic while they learn, and hopefully stay with, the game.

[Umpire in Chief]

Agreed, I don't doo too much for the 9-10 y/o kids. I start getting bigger with the 12 y/o, I probably don't give the full force K3 until JV.

[carolinablue]

Agreed, I don't doo too much for the 9-10 y/o kids. I start getting bigger with the 12 y/o, I probably don't give the full force K3 until JV.

I let the 12YOs have it. Some of them are bigger than me.

[JaxRolo]

If I tone it down it is not much.

I am actually know to be one of the loudest Strike callers in our associations.

I get comments from parents and coaches that they like it when i call a game because they always know what is going on and what the call is.

[HokieUmp]

I tend not to hold back at all. The only time I will is when I have a one-man game, because all of those (for us) are called from behind the mound, so a punch-out looks ridiculous from there. I just give another hammer and verbal, like the first two strikes. But if I'm behind the plate, I give my punch-out. (Although, thinking about it as I type, I might be quieter on the verbal part, but I don't do that consciously.)

I know the following will sound a little brutal, but: let's be honest - baseball is made of Fail. Batters swing and miss, pitchers miss the zone, and (depending on where we are in the age/talent area) throws go wild, fielders butcher balls hit to them, and runners make mistakes. It's not personal; it's just business. Face your fears and defeat them, grasshopper.

(This probably ties into the concepts of overly-strong-self-esteem, Helicopter Parents, participation trophies, etc, etc, and how a lot of teens and twenty-somethings I see think the world owes them something, I guess for merely making it to that age. But that's another thread/PhD disseration for another time.)

[Mr Umpire]

I don't hold back on purpose but I don't believe I hold back at all. I give it the same regardless of age. My reasoning always comes back to being consistent. With mechanics, positioning, and emphasis so I don't forget where I am at when I have to "sell" a call b/c I am on a 18U game vs. a 9U game.

[bniu]

in the youth league I call, I've been there for so long that I know most of the players and coaches on a first name basis. They know my ways of doing things and my mechanics have gotten a bit on the "lazy" side. I normally call the strikes just loud enough for the dugouts/infielders to hear, and let the hammer do the rest. The league's pretty peaceful with an emphasis on player development.