St. Cloud Area Has a Shortage of Baseball/Softball Umpires

The St. Cloud area is in need of more baseball/softball umpires and officials in general.  St. Cloud Officials Association Softball Assigner Tom Keller joined me on WJON.  Tom is also the west central, central and northeastern Minnesota regional coordinator for the Minnesota State High School League.  He is a longtime football, volleyball and basketball official and softball umpire.  Keller is currently an umpire for Division I softball in the Summit League and other college levels.

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Keller says there is a need for officials in all sports but the need for softball and baseball umpires is greater.  Keller has been in communication with St. Cloud Officials Association Baseball Assigner John Gerads and both agree umpires are greatly needed.  Many of the softball and baseball games are played in the afternoon which poses additional challenges as many of the umpires have jobs that keep them at work until 5pm.

Keller says there have been numerous occasions where game times and dates have been moved due to a lack of officials/umpires.  He says schools usually schedule events Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.  Keller believes high schools should use Monday-Friday for games and move start times back to allow for more available umpires.  He explains that when he was given the schedule for umpires this spring he was short 44 umpire dates.  Keller since has been able to solve the majority of the shortages but still has 4 dates without an umpire.  He says he was able to work with Athletic Directors to move dates and change times and he's also worked with other associations to fill the necessary openings.

Keller says they've had less than a handful of JV games they didn't have an umpire.  He says they prioritize varsity games as JV games can fall short.  Keller says there are occasions where the school calls local umpires or asks staff to cover JV games.

Keller says they start new umpires working with a mentor and handling JV games.  He says they also use scrimmages as training for new umpires.  The pay for JV and Varsity Softball is $130 per game.  Keller says summer baseball/softball is approximately $45 per game but umpires typically work multiples per day.  Umpires do need to purchase equipment such as a mask, chest protector, shin guards, and shoes. If you are interested in becoming an umpire go to scoamn.com.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Tom Keller, it is available below.