Jefferson County Little League needs umpires

FAIRFIELD — Jefferson County Little League’s season is underway, and the organization has put out a call for umpires.

The season was supposed to begin last week but those games were canceled due to cold temperatures. The young baseball and softball players, ranging in age from 8-12 years, took to the Little League fields in Fairfield Monday night for their first games of the season.

Paul Konczal, chief umpire for Little League Baseball and softball, said he needs umpires for 14 games next week. He said he likes to have one umpire per game, plus a parent volunteer to help make calls on the bases. Sometimes the umpire will call balls and strikes from behind the pitcher’s mound instead of behind the plate. Konczal said this is done so that the umpire can be closer to the bases when there is a play there, and it avoids those foul tips umpires behind the plate have to endure.

Umpires make $25 per game, which typically lasts two hours, from 6-8 p.m. They also receive water and food from the concession stand during or after the game. Konczal said he’s hoping to attract young people, who will see that they can make more money umpiring games than working at a fast-food restaurant. For instance, Konczal’s son Luke is a freshman in high school, and he is umpiring Little League games this season.

Konczal said he’s been trying to recruit baseball players from Fairfield High School, who can spare some time after school before their own baseball season begins. He said they would make good umpires because they already know the rules, and would just have to learn how to manage the game.

Little League umpires run the gamut from young to old, with many of them having kids who have gone through Little League and who want to stay active in the organization. Many of them have fond memories of playing in Little League, too.

Konczal said it’s no secret that it’s getting harder to find umpires, and not just for Little League, but for any youth sport. He’s involved in youth football and basketball, too, and finding officials is just as difficult in those sports.

“The same people are being asked to do it across multiple leagues,” Konczal said. “They’re being asked to do it at the high school, middle school and youth level. But these officials have their own lives and are busy raising their own families.”

Some umpires are turned off by the behavior of unruly fans and coaches.

“There’s not the proper level of respect for them,” Konczal said. “Sometimes, coaches are not as kind to umpires and officials as we’d like them to be.”

Konczal said the vast majority of fans at Jefferson County Little League games are respectful toward the umpires. A lot of them say thankful to the umpires after games. Konczal said the unruly fans are the outliers.

“I’ve been on both sides, as a coach and as an umpire,” Konczal said. “I’ve not always been on my best behavior, I admit, so maybe I’m trying to make up for that a little bit.”

Volunteerism in youth sports seems to be on the decline, Konczal said. Not only is it hard to find umpires, it’s hard to find head coaches.

“A lot of individuals want to assist, but some of them don’t feel they can handle being a head coach,” Konczal said. “And sometimes coaches don’t feel appreciated. It’s a lot of responsibility to organize practices and herd the kids through a season.”

Konczal has been active in Jefferson County Little League for six years, including being the president in 2018. He said Little League had to take 2020 off due to the pandemic, and that hurt participation numbers significantly in 2021. However, he said Little League is rebounding in 2022, especially on the softball side where the “major” league of girls aged 10-12 is now supporting three teams instead of just one team last year.

About 300 boys and girls are playing in Little League this year, which is down from five years ago when it was between 350-400, so Konczal hopes that the organization can add participants in the coming years.

Those who are interested in umpiring for Little League are encouraged to contact Konczal at 423-331-0773, or by emailing him at paulkonczal@hotmail.com.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com