Let kids umpire for themselves?

Love it. Little League in my town has been using babe ruth players to ump the younger kids games. Sometimes you still have a problem with parents and coaches trying to intimidate the young umps. But the league has really empowered them and leaned on uncooperative parents and coaches.

In theory I like the idea.  I think it would be a little rough for young kids in baseball just because of the rule "complexities".  Once they have a little experience though they could probably figure it out.

Our park uses teens to umpire 4U (well, not really umpire - just kind of keep everything organized at that age) through 10U.  The 10U games have an adult umpire behind the plate and a HS Jr or Sr covering the bases.

One thing I like to do with teams I'm coaching is to occasionally let the kids act as base coaches.  They have fun doing it. I think it puts them in a position to see the game differently - and hopefully learn some things. It's not like coaching the bases is rocket surgery or anything.

We self-umpired when I was a kid playing at the local elementary school.

"Strike three!" 

"No way!"

"You're a cheater!"

"You are!"

[pushing, shoving, wrestle to the ground]

"OK, that's three outs."

"OK"

"Can I use your glove?"

"OK"

And when you got older:

"Strike three!" 

"No way!"

"You're a cheater!"

"You are!"

[Beer chugging contest]

"Burp"

"Who's up?"

We use BR players (13-15) through BR minor and then at the two oldest ages - major and BR - there is one adult behind the plate and one kid as BU. At the BR level, it's a HS junior or senior.

We used kids in our league when adults became "scarce" and "unpredictable"... General rule of thumb was out of the league for 2 years (13/14's could do U10, 15's could do U12) to start. If you proved capable, dependable, responsible, etc-able, then a 13/14 could do U12. Paid them pretty well and we always had a good supply. The League let the coaches know we were watching them and had to discipline a few along the way, but for the most part they were very accepting. I always reminded them it could one day be *their* son and how would you want someone to treat him? One day some dad was riding the kid behind the plate, I got up close to him and announced loud enough for all his "friends" to hear - I need a base umpire tomorrow, I'll be here and so should you. But please, when you show up - don't be half drunk.  Suffice to say he shut up pretty quick (and yes it was very obvious he'd had a few).

As a HS Senior through Sophomore in college my oldest son scheduled the umpires and acted as UiC. He did the training while home on break. Most of the season was after Spring semester was over so he could be around. Good experience for him that he kept on his resume after he graduated.

My other two boys also umpired and continue to do so. It's a part-time summer job that pays cash... It also taught all of them a lot more about the game and how to handle situations. They know when an umpire "misses" a call in their game it's not the end of the world. It is a double edged sword though when you know the rule and let the umpire in your own game know he missed something or was out of position...

We tried thirteen and fourteen year olds umpiring 9/10s for a season. It was a disaster. They didn't know the rules well enough (not that all parent umps know the rules). When the kids didn't know the rules well enough the adult coaches would intimidate them. The next year an adult umpired home with a kid doing the bases. In 11/12s there was paid umpire. By then we left CR for LL. LL had two volunteer adults.

Reminds me of some old pick up basketball game.

"No blood No foul" 

Which typically quickly escalated to a foul!  

I sent my kid over to a basketball court in a tough neighborhood to toughen up his game. He called a foul on his defender while attempting to go to the hoop.

A guy walked over to him and said, "You ain't dead is you?" My son responded he wasn't.

"Then there ain't no foul."

Here are some things a well-run youth umpire program can bring:

1. Better baseball knowledge for the kids

2. A pipeline for more umpires (and thus, better candidate pool) for higher levels

3. An opportunity for kids to remain involved once they have reached their playing potential

4. Allows coaches to coach and parents to parent

For success, it requires a knowledgeable training staff, integration with your local umpires' group(s), BoD support, and a culture of understanding that this is a learning opportunity for the youth umpires as well as the players. This means that Ol' Smitty (that one umpire all leagues have who's been around since the Eisenhower administration, who's everyone's buddy, who's not the best umpire but just a great guy) cannot be in charge of this program nor train the kids. I would suggest reaching out to your local college association--generally you're most likely to get guys who are devoted to doing it right and are willing to teach.

I'm partial to this model because it's how I started 20 years ago...and now, it's led to it being a productive, enjoyable, and significant part of my life.