Become an umpire in Portage

Spring is here, and that means it is time for another Baseball season in Manitoba. 

While it is a little too late to get involved competitively, Baseball Manitoba is still looking for umpires, and Portagers can learn how to become one this weekend. Trent Lepine, Umpire-in-chief for Portage Minor Baseball, will be running the one-day umpiring clinic and gives the rundown.

"April 30 is going to be our level 1 and level 2 umpiring clinic at Stride Place, starting at 8:30 a.m."

Lepine says you can sign up through the Baseball Manitoba website or click here.

He notes umpires receive financial compensation for each game they work and adds it's great for those looking to stay involved in the sport. 

Lepine says this clinic is for umpires who are currently at level 1 or 2 but they also accept newcomers. Whether you have knowledge of baseball or not doesn't matter, according to Lepine, as long as you're willing to learn.

"Registration is at 8:30, and the clinic starts at 9:00. We'll do an in-book presentation from 9 to 11:30, and then we'll have lunch," Lepine explains. "In the afternoon, that's when we learn how to call balls and strikes, doing it in the stance, doing some rotations, and doing some action play. We teach them how to stand when you're calling balls and strikes or safe and outs on the bases. Basically, we show the kids what to do when certain things happen and the mechanics of the game. In the morning, we learn the rules of the game, and in the afternoon is more physical. It should be a fun day of learning."

The long-time umpire says they really want to focus on getting more locals involved.

"I'm focusing on right now the young umpires who would like to come out this year because we do have a lot of teams this year in Portage Minor Baseball. We added another 30 players from last year. So, we have quite a few teams who need some young umpires for the games."

Lepine adds even if you're playing baseball this year, you can still get involved.

"A lot of the young umpires are also baseball players. They know how the game works, and they get to see the other side. To me, that actually makes them a lot better ball players and also great umpires," Lepine continues. "When you do well, you move up (to older/better leagues). You get better pay, and you get recognized by the province. They might get a shot at provincials and maybe get an opportunity to move on further."

The one-day clinic goes down on Sunday, April 30, at Stride Place.