Greg Wright, 52, has been umpiring since 1998 and consistently at the high school level since 2008. He said his tactic in dealing with complaints is to take the comments from fans as “comic relief” and not engage in any back and forth. He also understands that coaches have a rooting interest and “are going to fight for their kids.”
“Their job may be on the line if they fail,” Wright said of coaches. “But when younger kids start out and people start yelling at them, whether it is fans or coaches, they don’t know how to deal with somebody right in their face. With fans, you have to have the personality that you find it funny. A lot of them don’t know what they are talking about. But for a younger umpire, once they get that they say, ‘You know what, this isn’t for me.’ Then they get out of it. Most of us doing it are 40-plus and there are quite a few who are 60-plus. We need more people to get involved. Without adult participation, the kids don’t play. The word needs to get out because it is a critical issue in our sport.”