By now Scott McGregor has some pretty thick skin.
The 2001 Clarkston High School graduate has served as an umpire for the Independence Township Parks and Recreation youth softball and baseball program for the last seven years. Over that time, he’s grown accustomed to having his fair share of hostile parents vent their frustration with his work. Yet, he keeps coming back for more and for the last two years has served as Umpire in Chief for the program. There, his main duty is to train all the younger umpires with the help of his four supervisors. About 60 are on staff total within the program, which features about 70 teams and about 1,000 area youth.
‘I enjoy being out here with all the kids and helping them out. But all the time we hear an earful, but you’ve got to take it in stride. (It goes) in one ear and out the other,? he said with a laugh.
McGregor said parents of the older teams tend to give him and his staff a bit harder time than the parents of younger players because the older teams are more competitive. However, he said most the time parents are fine to work with.
The program runs two umpires for its major league teams and one per game for its minor league teams, he said. Major league teams for boys run from ages nine through 18 and for girls run from 11-14. Minor league teams for boys are from t-ball age through eight years and for girls are from t-ball through 10 years old. Each umpire goes through either two or five hours of training, he said, depending on if the umpire is new or returning. Umpires range in age from 14 to 25 years of age, McGregor said.
Over the last seven years he’s seen his share of umpires come and go through out the program and he said usually about halfway through the season he can tell whether or not an umpire will last until the following summer.
‘The most common mistakes I see in young umpires is not being loud enough and just being lazy,? McGregor said. ‘You’ve got to really hustle out here. You can tell by their commitment level or if they’re shy and you can tell it’s not really for them.?
Even with seven years of umpiring experience now under his belt, McGregor admitted that he is still a fan at heart and still yells at umpires himself if he sees a bad call in person or on television.
‘I still yell at the umps. It doesn’t matter if you are one or not. You always yell at the umps because according to the spectators, they’re always wrong,? he said.
Whether or not McGregor will return next summer for an eighth year remains to be seen. He will be entering his final year at the University of Michigan where he is majoring in secondary education and hopes to become a math teacher. But for those interested in serving as an umpire next year, remember these words of advice from the seasoned veteran.
‘What makes a good umpire is somebody who is outgoing and being able to make quick, informative decisions and being able to back yourself up and back your fellow umpires up,? he said.