The number of sports officials falls to a critical level, but the Alfond center seeks to train the next generation in the Waterville area

Cleveland Brown, left, and Stephen Belanger pack up to leave a practice session Saturday at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville. The session was aimed at recruiting and training baseball and softball umpires, which the region desperately needs for youth and other games. Michael G. Seamans / Morning Watchman

WATERVILLE — Amid a nationwide shortage of sports officials, the Alfond Youth & Community Center has launched a series of clinics aimed at training a new generation of quality youth umpires and umpires.

The first event in the series took place Saturday on baseball and softball umpires at Center Gym at 126 North St. in Waterville.

The clinic attracted a handful of high school and junior high students on a rainy Saturday morning, all eager to learn more about becoming a referee in time for the summer youth sports season.

“Today I was trying to sell officiating,” said Stephen Belanger, Waterville District Commissioner for USA Softball.

Bélanger said there are many reasons to get into officiating. That’s a good salary, for one thing: Working a tournament weekend this summer could easily earn an official around $600, he said.

All of the kids who showed up Saturday are also athletes, Belanger said, and might be interested in officiating as a way to stay involved in their sport after graduating from high school.

With some coaches, parents and fans openly chastising officials for making necessary calls, “getting people out the door is only half the battle,” said Alfond athletic director Beth LaFountain. . “Keeping them on the pitch is what we try to do.”

LaFountain, who played softball at Thomas College in Waterville, said sports officials are “in a crisis.” In recent years, she said, baseball, softball, lacrosse and basketball games in central Maine have often been canceled, rescheduled or half-executed.

Cleveland Brown, left, and Stephen Belanger leave a practice session Saturday at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville. The session was aimed at recruiting and training baseball and softball umpires, which the region desperately needs for youth and other games. Michael G. Seamans / Morning Watchman

The staffing shortages have hit the youth leagues particularly hard, LaFountain said. When few sports officials are available, college and high school games take priority and referees are removed from youth games.

In part, it’s the poor treatment of sports officials nationwide that explains their dwindling numbers, LaFountain said.

In 2019, Officially Human surveyed nearly 19,000 officials across all sports at the high school level and below. The organization, which promotes the respectful treatment of sports officials, found that 60% of respondents said verbal abuse from parents and fans would be their main reason for quitting.

In 2017, a survey by the National Association of Sports Officials found that 84% of officials felt they had been treated unfairly by spectators.

The crisis has deepened during the pandemic, which has seen a generation of sports officials take early retirement. Officially Human found that 45% of respondents to the 2019 survey felt they had less than six years left in their refereeing career and that they expected it to be finished by 2025.

To retain sports officials of all ages, LaFountain said, a serious cultural shift is needed that places more emphasis on young athletes and a love of the game and less on adults and the toxic environment created by spectators. during matches.

The AYCC is working to find solutions to the crisis. In addition to hosting officiating clinics, the center is exploring local policy changes that could allow administrators to safely remove spectators without stopping play.

This next generation of referees, Belanger said, will need to be trained in de-escalation techniques. But the consensus among sports officials, he said, is that coaches should lead the way in challenging poor sportsmanship.

Coaches show parents and children what acceptable conduct is, Belanger said, and they can intervene when spectators go overboard and start harassing officials — many of whom are children themselves.

Bélanger said students attending the clinic today could be certified to officiate baseball or softball games by May. The next step would be to bring prospects into a classroom to learn the rules of the game inside and out. After passing an open book test, they will complete their training by officiating matches alongside a senior official to guide them.

For those who missed Saturday’s event, another clinic for baseball and softball umpires is scheduled for April 30 at the center. Clinics for those interested in officiating other sports will be posted on the center’s website.

Invalid username/password.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Use the form below to reset your password. After you submit your account email, we’ll send you an email with a reset code.

” Previous

Firefighters battle a house fire in Scarborough

Following ”

A small group of white supremacists march through downtown Portland

Related stories

Related Article