Pure Sole: Little League needs more than just youth players

Klas Stolpe
May 13
4 min read

Another season, another request for help to keep the games fun

Juneau umpire Tom Mayer calls a strikeout as Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior catcher Nate Fick holds on to a pitch against Ketchikan in a recent high school baseball game at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

By Klas Stolpe

Juneau Independent

I was 10 and standing at home plate. Well, it was the traditional diamond shape of home plate, but had a piece missing from the side. Our umpire at that time, who was also a Fish and Game biologist, had left it overnight in the back of his pickup with remnants of some fish pond study and it had been “bear un-proofed” by morning.

So, standing there, at half a home plate, staring out at pitcher Helga Thornsondotter — she of the fastest overhand delivery in our league — I believed, since the target was smaller, I was safer.

Ah, youth! We believe so much. Needless to say, I had a free pass to first base, a bruise on my side and from the pitcher's mound, the glowering scowl of the girl who would be my first girlfriend. That scowl deepened as the umpire kindly suggested to Helga, who had struck me twice already in the game, and had missed me with three prior pitches in this at bat, was in violation of our Little Norwegian community’s sportsmanship rules and could sit in her team’s dugout.

Umpires may not know a lot about youth love, but they try to understand the finer points of the game. They don their gear despite the heckles and jeers from the stands, the kicked dirt and hands raised to the sky from players, and admonitions from adults. Yogi Berra once said, “Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps parents off the streets.”

As the 2026 Gastineau Channel Little League has begun, one thing is clear: there is a shortage of officials. It’s a similar refrain, with other sports such as football, volleyball, basketball, soccer and hockey have all sought more help as aging officials retire — there is a need for younger officials to join the ranks in baseball and softball.

“Between baseball and softball, we have around 30 youth umpires,” GCLL Chief Umpire Matt McGuan said. “But only about four to five adults are available with any sort of consistency. The youth umpires are great, but they can only work the younger divisions. We struggle to find umpires for the upper divisions, with coaches often having to fill in.”

McGuan will be teaching an umpire clinic from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday at Melvin Park. This is mostly for youth umpires. He will also hold a clinic from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday at Dimond Park field four, for upper division baseball. Adults and junior players are welcome at both. The clinics are free.

Over the eight-week season there will be about 130 games that need umpires. The busiest weekdays are Tuesdays and Thursdays, where the league usually has five games each night that need umpires. The league also has one to two games on Mondays and Wednesdays, and can be short an umpire there. Fridays are game-less if no tournaments are hosted. Every team plays Saturday, with up to nine games throughout the day that need umpires. The league tries to ensure umpires work only one game in a day, but since weekday games run concurrently, they sometimes work two.

“The clinic is open to all players and any adults that are registered with the league and have submitted a background check,” McGuan said.

Volunteers can register and submit a background check on the GCLL website juneaulittleleague.com.

Youth umpires are paid $15 per game. Adult umpires for Little League are volunteers. All umpires get a free hot dog and soda from the concession stands after the game. And umpires at the high school and legion level are paid more.

The Juneau Douglas Officials Association oversees umpires for high school and legion. Umpires on that level are paid $55 for junior varsity and $65 for varsity. The JDOA also offers up to $200 reimbursement for first-time officials toward gear.

Currently McGuan, Tom Mayer, Mike Crabb, Gary Reid and Rich Pratt are the five Juneau umpires certified to work high school baseball games. Bob Sims, Hannah Ingerson, Jack Stickel, David Means and Crabb are certified for high school fast-pitch softball, and 14 adults are USA Softball certified to work slow-pitch softball.

“You have to get recertification every year,” McGuan said. “Which includes passing a 50-question online exam. For Little League, we give as much training as possible, but there is not a ‘certification’ process beyond registering with the league and going through the background check.”

Local adult volunteers may work more games than a certified official, thus clinics are important.

In my experience, as a tiny "love-struck" baseball player, and as a writer and photographer of sports, I know that my life would not be as fulfilling without the contributions from the men and women who wear the officials' uniforms, whether I disagree with a call or not.