Coach Duke Baxter received a phone call during a Zoned 13U baseball game from one of the 13U coaches. He said "a parent just punched the umpire right in the face!"   

At the game, there was a coach, who was a dad, that was coaching first base for this organization. The coach did not agree with a call that the umpire made in regard to a balk. He began to heckle the umpire and the umpire ended up throwing him off the field. The coach punched the umpire in the face. The next day, Coach Duke talked to the umpire and his jaw was wired closed and had loose teeth. The cops had come during the game.  

Situations like this are why there is an umpire shortage in the game of baseball. From this, it is important for parents to understand that youth sports games are not a place for drinking, heckling of umpires, or distracting the other team. Youth sports are so important for the development of younger players and the parents need to recognize that encouragement and support is what the teams need.   Coaches, we need to make sure we are aware of who we ask to help us coach first base or third base. We need to know who is in our dugout, where they have been, and what they have been doing around the time of the game. It is our responsibility to keep the game fun and safe for the players, and the mindset of our coaches play a huge role in that. Even though the man who punched the umpire was a dad, he was given the responsibility to coach first base so he now represents that team and organization.   

In another situation, a younger umpire was in a game and he was getting heckled by the parents and just called the game. He was volunteering his time to help the little league players progress in their sport and the parents were behind home plate yelling at him. He gave them a clear warning, and when they continued, he called the game a forfeit.   

From these experiences, it is clear that some parents lose track of why they are there. Parents and friends should be there to support the youth players and respect the game instead of getting caught up in the future of their child or winning. Bad calls happen, especially in youth games, but it is just part of the game and it is important to be respectful about what calls were made. A coach can talk to the umpire about a call quietly and address him by his first name because he is here because he loves the game just as much as the coaches.

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