St. Augustine Little League: Umpires

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Little League umpires striving to improve
A story in the edition (Feb. 4, 2004) of the Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal. The story details a visit by Andy Konyar, Little League's umpire consultant, to the Delaware District 2 Umpires Clinic in Newark, Del. A link to the story is below.


Little League umpires striving to improve

By BRIAN SMITH
Special to The News Journal
02/02/2004

NEWARK -- When actor Trey Wilson played the role of baseball manager Joe Reardon in the movie "Bull Durham," he summed up the sport in three short statements.

"This is a simple game," he told his players. "You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball."

While that may be an interesting way to view playing baseball, it doesn't apply to umpiring the game. Whether it's making a simple call on the bases or understanding the intricacies of the infield fly rule, umpires have a lot to worry about - even at the Little League level.

That's why 85 Little League umpires from throughout Delaware spent Saturday learning how to become better at their craft at the Delaware District 2 Umpires Clinic at the Bob Carpenter Center. Andy Konyar, the Little League Baseball umpire-in-chief, and Mike Messick, an instructor at the Little League Umpire School, spent seven hours discussing the details of umpiring with the participants, who volunteer their time.

While some umpires were new at the job, others were there to learn even though they have years of experience. Ron Atkins, 55, of Millsboro has been umpiring in the Millsboro Little League for 32 years and will be one of two umpires representing the Mid-Atlantic region in the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa., in August. He wanted to hear Konyar's take on things.

"You always can learn more things," Atkins said. "When different plays come up, you always learn, and that's the way you always get better the more you do it. There's always something you haven't seen that's going to happen, and you're constantly learning."

Mike Skodzinski, 37, of Bear is entering his fourth year of umpiring in the Canal Little League. The league gave him some training when he started, but the clinic helped him build on that foundation. To become a Little League umpire, volunteers are required only to go through training provided by their local league.

"There's a lot of basic stuff that I've learned over the years, and just to hear them go over it again, there's always something you've missed," Skodzinski said. "I'd come to this same thing again, even if they went over the same information, because I know there's something I'd pick up that I didn't get this time."

The art of umpiring is much more complex than it appears. Konyar came equipped with a laptop computer and projector to show presentations on a movie screen, and participants received several reference books and other information. One of those was the Little League Baseball Umpire Clinic Manual, a 48-page book stuffed with information on subjects like umpire mechanics and positioning and tips on handling a wide variety of game situations.

"A lot of people are just shocked [at the details]," Konyar said. "They think you put a blue shirt and gray pants on and walk on the field and say, 'You're out.' It's a lot more than that. It's being at the right place at the right time, and to do that, you have to know what your areas of responsibility are and how to get there."

Tom Disharoon, 41, of Seaford, who will represent the Mid-Atlantic region in the Senior League World Series at Bangor, Maine, in August, was surprised at the effectiveness of the clinic the first year he attended.

"I myself did not realize how positioning on the field and certain mechanics can help a long way in making the correct call," he said. "Your timing is one thing that is very important in umpiring."

Little Leagues across the country are held together by volunteers who coach, maintain fields and sell refreshments. But the role of umpire is one that often gets overlooked, and many leagues find it difficult to get volunteers to fill the positions.

"It's getting tougher," said Mike Hirschman, umpire-in-chief for District 2. "The fact of the matter is people have less time, and it's a volunteer gig. You do what you can to try to keep the volunteers in as long as possible."

Konyar's home league in Lewisburg, Pa., is no exception. During the regular season, Little League's top-ranking umpire might find himself working a game with a parent who has never umpired before.

"My league will assign me to umpire the plate in a game, and the local rules call for the home team to get somebody out of the stands as a second [umpire], which is tough," Konyar said. "If Little League baseball has 7,000 programs in the world, probably 5,000 or 6,000 of them struggle every year with getting umpires out to help them do ballgames."

Those who do umpire put themselves in what can become a precarious position. Little League umpires are like any other sports official in that sometimes a coach, player or parent will disagree with a call. The criticism can drive umpires to quit, and make it difficult to recruit new candidates. But many umpires said they don't let it bother them.

"It's not personal," Skodzinski said. "The parents are worse than the kids. I just enjoy the kids, myself. If they're having fun, then I'm having fun. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it."


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HOW TO: Two Man Umpire Crew Mechanics 60' Bases

Download the Powerpoint file below to see the proper mechanics for a two
man Umpire crew for the 60' bases. After download, when you open file,
select Slideshow from top menu, then click on View Show.  Slideshow is
animated.

Two Man Umpire Crew Mechanics 60' Bases