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Sunnyvale Southern Little League

Umpiring

Important Links

General Information

Welcome to the 2007 Southern Little League baseball season!

Our Umpire in Chief will once again be Dave Kaefer. He is responsible for umpire training, overall umpire performance, and umpiring equipment. If you want to know anything about umpiring, he’s the person to talk to!

Also returning is Jo Ellen Nichols, our Umpire Scheduler. She is responsible for scheduling umpires to games, managing their pay, as well as overall Arbiter maintenance and use. She can be contacted by email at jnssllumpschd@aol.com.

All prospective umpires begin by filling out an Umpiring Information Form and attending the required training clinics. The information on the form will be used to assign officials to games, depending upon availability. The contact information is very important for communicating with officials about their schedules as well as granting them access to the Arbiter scheduling system.

Additionally, adult umpires (18 years and older) must submit to SSLL a Little League Volunteer Form, a copy of their driver’s license or DMV identification card, and be fingerprinted by Sunnyvale Public Safety. Questions regarding these procedures should be directed to the SSLL Safety Coordinator.

For all forms, please click Volunteers.

E-mail and Internet Access

We continue to use the web-based Arbiter scheduling system to assign officials to games and track their pay. Officials will be notified by e-mail a few days in advance of an assigned game.

The officials will also have access to the Arbiter. They will be able to accept games scheduled, find substitutes when they need one, and access contact information for the Umpire In Chief and the Umpire Scheduler.

If an official does not have e-mail access, it is very important to have accurate and timely telephone contact information.

Qualifications for Umpiring

The minimum age for being an umpire is 12 years old. Twelve year olds will umpire the Farm division. The Umpire In Chief will determine who will umpire the other divisions, based upon age and experience.

Umpire Training Clinics

This year’s clinics begin the week after Super Bowl Sunday. All training clinics will be held at Sunnyvale Middle School at the softball field (field closest to Mary Ave).

Sundays: February 11 11 am - 1 pm
  February 18 11 am - 1 pm
  February 25 11 am - 1 pm
  March 4 11 am - 1 pm

Four clinics are being offered for prospective umpires. All 12-year-old prospective umpires must attend all clinics. Attendees in their first, second, or third year of umpiring should attend all four clinics. Attendees in their fourth or more year of umpiring and adults should attend at least two clinics. Those who are unable to attend the requisite number of clinics should talk to Dave so that he can assess the situation and expertise of the individual.

As in the past, everyone who attends at least two clinics will receive some pay. A clinic conducted by Little League District 44 will count towards this. At least one of the clinics must be one of the above, conducted by Dave. Attendance will be taken at each session.

No special clothing or equipment is needed for the clinics. Just wear comfortable clothes appropriate for practicing umpiring.

If you have SSLL umpiring equipment from previous years, make sure you dust them off and try them on now! You may need replacements or repairs. Bring them to the clinic if you have any doubts.

Mid-way through each clinic, Dave will take a ten minute break. It’s fine to bring a soft drink, water, and/or a snack to eat during the break.

Clinic 1: Introductions, sign-ups, rule books, training, and practice.
Clinic 2-4: More rules, more training and more practice!

Sunnyvale Southern Little League, P.O. Box 2054
Sunnyvale CA 94087