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Okay, I'll come clean. I'm a *gasp* Little League ump. I've done everything from 9-10 ball up through big diamond Senior ball. But all under the LL system.
I do it mainly for the kids. Not many people in the league had a good understanding of the rules ("hands part of the bat," "can't steal on a walk," "the runner's out if he leads off") and I did. Couple that with the fact that we had many games where there were no umps at all, and it was an easy decision to start umping.
I started with the equipment the league owned and when I got sick of ill-fitting masks that weighed 100 pounds I bought some decent stuff. Not WV Platinum or anything, but some good Honigs gear. It's amazing how much the kids and parents appreciate having someone who looks like a real ump. Most of the time we have a dad strap the gear over his clothes and stumble his way through a game.
So my goals are to give the kids a good game. I'm there to encourage a love of baseball. At the same time, I strive to get better. I'd love to ge to the point where I could do varsity HS ball, but I expect I'd still do a lot of Little League.
I'm in this for the kids. The same reason I lead Cub Scouts, and coach ball and soccer.
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