Numbers for TSSAA umpires down in softball, baseball
The TSSAA has already faced a shortage of football officials, something the high school sports organization has made steps in working around recently.
Now the TSSAA is facing the same issue in spring sports with a shortage of umpires for baseball and softball.
A softball contest between Page and visiting Spring Hill was postponed Tuesday because of a shortage of officials.
That’s not the only time it has occurred or is expected to happen this spring.
“We are short,” TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress said Tuesday “It really depends on the area of the state. Here recently, in Middle Tennessee, we have so many games. We have three organizations trying to cover all of these games.”
In the case of Tuesday and several days before, the Southern Warrior Classic, being held in and around Murfreesboro, has scheduled numerous games (nine on Tuesday), which could have had an impact on the Page-spring Hill postponement.
However, the numbers indicate that the issue is bigger than just one tournament.
The TSSAA reported having 1,050 baseball umpires registered statewide in 2021. This year, that number is down to 794.
There were 818 softball officials registered in 2021, and that number has dropped to 663.
Childress said there are officials still registering and those numbers could climb, but they are not expected to reach last year’s figures.
He said he has worked with assigners on how to work through the issue, which he indicated was more prominent in Middle Tennessee. Not having a full staff of officials at games is an option, but something he said is a “last resort.”
“I spent time with an assigner last night to see if he was able to cover the games he had today,” Childress said.
“What I said to him was your first obligation was to have a minimum of two (umpires) at the rivalry games, the district games and regional games.
“If you’re looking at sending only one umpire to a game, then you look at the games that could possibly not be really
close ballgames, and if you want to only send one umpire, then you need to talk to the coaches and see if they're OK with that.
“We have to do justice to the schools.”
The TSSAA recently announced that a considerable number of 2022 football games would be moved to Thursday to help accommodate shortages in that sport.
He didn't indicate something like that would ever happen during spring sports, but did point out a potential issue similar to football.
“When you run out (of umpires) on a particular day, you're just going to have to call the school and (ask) if they're willing to move the game,” Childress said. “One umpire said that if they would schedule games on Friday, it wouldn't be a problem whatsoever. Most schools want to play Monday through Thursday. On those days, everybody's playing.”
While spreading out game days would be a temporary fix, boosting numbers is the real solution.
“We just need more bodies out there,” Childress said.
“We have colleges and universities across the state trying to encourage young athletes to give back to the game. We have even had assigning officers and supervisors speak to classes, trying to get young people involved.”