Solving youth sports’ shortage of umpires and referees: How to win at youth sports, from WKYC

Youth sports is afflicted with a range of challenges and barriers, including rising costs, declining participation rates, overuse injuries caused by sports specialization, and more.

One of the most underdiscussed challenges facing youth sports is the shortage of umpires and referees available to officiate games. The decline in youth sports officials is largely attributed to harsh atmospheres at games caused by angry and aggressive parents, according to one local longtime official.

“You’re walking to your car with your bag and all of the sudden you’ve got two parents yelling at you,” Al Ivy, a youth sports officiant for baseball, basketball and football for more than 30 years in Northeast Ohio, told WKYC. “When the game’s over, you’re chasing the umpire out of the parking lot. Now what kind of example are you setting for your child?”

Ivy said today’s youth sports parents are more aggressive than he’s ever seen in his three-decade career. He recalled seeing two mothers get into a physical altercation during a football game years ago after their two sons had a collision on the field.

“It’s wrong because that’s what you taught your son or your daughter: That if (things) don’t go right, you fight,” he said. “You’re teaching them the wrong things.”

Last year, the city of Brook Park passed legislation specifically outlawing “disorderly conduct at sporting events,” which can result in a third- to first-degree misdemeanor.

Ivy admits that no referee is perfect and incorrect calls are inevitable, but not intentional. He also notes that increasing aggression from youth sports parents has deterred the next generation of youth umpires and referees from pursuing the roles, which creates a void in the youth sports equation.

“They don’t want to get yelled at,” he told WKYC. “They don’t want to get jumped on.”

Learn more about the shortage of umpires and referees and its impact on youth sports at WKYC’s website.

In our partnership with WKYC called “How to win at youth sports (without going broke or breaking down),” we talked to experts, coaches and families about the current landscape and what we can do better to develop healthy, well-adjusted players.