Become an Umpire

Umpiring baseball.  Officiating for basketball, soccer, football, or any number of organized sports out there can be a great source of income and fun.  I’ve personally spent many evenings and weekends earning money doing these things, and I love it.

Be warned that this is NOT a great job to take on for many people.  There is a lot of pressure placed on you when you find yourself in the middle of the action.  Split-second decisions must be made and you MUST know the rule book inside and out to be effective.  And even when you are good at what you do, you’ll still never receive much appreciation from your clients (which are those screaming players and their parents questioning your every call).

Still, I like this idea as an extra source of income for a number of reasons:

• You get to take assignments on when you are available.  If you have a lot of time to devote one week, you can usually get a lot of assignments.  If you are too busy that week, they usually don’t mnd you turning down assignments.  As long as you are organized when accepting assignments and don’t have to make last minute changes, the organizations that hire you are generally very accomodating.
• You are providing a much needed service.  These organizations are giving kids a positive outlet for their energies and they are often short-handed for people willing to provide this service (which is one reason they are able to pay you quite well for your time).  You are helping kids, and earning money.  What could be better?
• The pay usually comes in a lump-sum at the end of the season.  For a baseball season, for example, most organizations offer you a bonus if you will complete the entire season with them.  They hold your pay until the very end and then will add on a nice chunk if you’re still accepting assignments at the end.  So you get a nice big chunk of money all at once – which you can use to solve some specific financial problems or use for something special.
• Tournaments usually offer cash on the spot.  When you become established as a good official, you’ll often be asked to serve for weekend tournaments – which are generally outside of the organization who assigns you to weekly games.  These weekend tournaments typically pay you cash at the end of the tournament for all the games you’ve worked – which gives you some pocket spending money and isn’t something you’ll have to report on your taxes.
• You can earn better assignments by becoming better at what you do.  These organizations are always coming around to monitor new members (and keep an eye on old timers to make sure they’re still performing well).  Once you’ve shown that you can perform at high levels, you start getting better games – which pay more!  I love jobs where your pay is based on your performance!

To give you an example of this last idea, I was called at the last minute one time during my very first umpiring season to work a high school JV game.  I hadn’t been assigned anything above the 12-13 year old leagues yet, but they needed someone that next day and was wondering if I could do it.  I eagerly said “yes” and showed up.  I was supposed to have a partner work with me, but they couldn’t find one.  So I worked the game all by myself.

“Your Momma wears army boots!”

About the 3rd inning, one of the pitchers pulled an illegal pick-off move, and I immediately called a “Balk” on the pitcher - allowing the runner on 3rd base to score.  The coach of the pitcher’s team came unglued!  Their pitchers have been using that move all year, he told me, and not once had it been called a balk, and I must not know what I’m doing, and had I ever umpired a game before, and did my mother wear army boots??? 

I calmly told him that my understanding of the rule book was that it was a balk.  He was welcomed to protest the game it he wanted to, but I believed it to be a balk and it would continue to be called a balk so he better inform his pitchers not to do it again.  (I was really nervous that I was wrong, but I held my ground anyway because my gut told me I was correct.)

After the game, that coach pulled me aside and thanked me for the way I performed.  He said it was true that I was the first umpire to call that move a balk all year, but that I was also the first one to be correct.  He was impressed that I had gotten it right and impressed with the way I had handled the confrontation.  He patted me on the back and told me he’d put in a good word for me with the organization, and the next thing I knew, I was getting JV assignments the rest of the season and was even invited to do the post season playoff games – a big honor (and big money).

Will you get rich off of umpiring?  No.  But getting that check for a few thousand dollars at the end of the season for working a few evenings and weekends doing something fun and performing a service – I think it’s a great thing to do. 

How to get started:

Check with local little leagues or schools and find out who assigns the umpires or officials.  They usually work several months in advance of the actual season (baseball umpires are getting started as early as December in some places for the coming season, for example).  These organizations will have orientation meetings and some training programs (usually an all day Saturday clinic for newbies) to help you get started.  You’ll have some equipment and uniforms to buy (check second hand stores and ebay for bargains) and you’ll be ready to go.

Have fun and “Play Ball!”

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