Part VI of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits! Many youth baseball umpires and referees get their start in their early teens. At that age you usually can’t get a real job, so for young teens that love baseball, umpiring games played by 7/8 year olds is a great way to…

Part V of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits! The downward spiral of the number of available youth umpires and referees has been happening for years, long before COVID-19 turned the world upside down. In 2019, newspaper articles nationwide talked about the impending shortage of youth sports officials. Like many things,…

Part IV of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits! HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM! So does Boston, Chicago, New York, and every other major city and small town in America where youth sports are played. In baseball, and all youth sports, officials everywhere are resigning in record numbers. What I’m seeing…

Part III of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits! Since so many parents and spectators don’t “bite their tongues” when they disagree with calls officials make, their unacceptable behavior causes problems. One of the biggest problems that poor behavior by adults at kid’s games has caused is the severe shortage of…

Part II of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits! These were other observations I had from this past 2023 baseball season: Although there seems to be more awareness of the abuse of youth sports officials today due to reports in the news and online, the incidents keep happening. Despite warnings and…

Part I of Why Youth Sports Umpires and Referees are Calling it Quits! With the 2023 season concluded, youth baseball is alive and well, but it has a serious problem which has been ignored for many years. Now in my fifteenth year of umpiring, I’ve seen far too many excellent officials give up this gig,…