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This season my 13 year old son decided he wanted to take on umpiring in the competition he plays in; the WRFL.
He attends MacKillop College & the WRFL have set up 3 Academies for junior umpires at MacKillop College in Werribee, at Caroline Springs & at Maidstone.
At the start he wasn't sure whether to field umpire on boundary, so ticked both boxes.
He started off running the boundary in the under 18's on a Saturday morning, then has moved up through Div 2 reserves & lately has been doing Div 1 reserves.
With his field umpiring, it had to be managed so he'd initially umpire the u9/10's at 8.50am on a Sunday morning at a ground near to where he was playing at lunchtime. After becoming comfortable he moved up to u11/12's immediately prior to his own game & when his side recently had a bye he did an u14's game. It was funny in a way as he umpired kids he'd recently played against.
Now, the WRFL don't just throw the kids in to see whether they sink or swim. They provide junior field umpires with a mentor who initially runs with them on the ground, gradually lessening their involvement at the kids become more competent. When the kids are OK to umpire the mentor will watch from the sidelines & at the breaks offer encouragement & advice.
I am wrapt with how the mentors (who are senior WRFL umpires) have looked after the kids & my son has learnt so much this season. All of the senior umpires he's come into contact with (both as a field & boundary umpire) has gone out of their way to offer encouragement & assist the kids in any way they can.
The kids who umpire do get well paid & in my son's case he's decided to have his payment deposited into a bank account he can't access as he wants to use umpiring money to buy a car when he's 18 & has already earnt $1,500.
He was one of only 4 first year umpires to get an appointment to field umpire a junior final in the first week of the finals & must have went OK as he got another game last weekend.
If you have children out there that are interested in taking up umpiring, certainly get them involved next year. It's amazing the confidence that grows as a result.
He attends MacKillop College & the WRFL have set up 3 Academies for junior umpires at MacKillop College in Werribee, at Caroline Springs & at Maidstone.
At the start he wasn't sure whether to field umpire on boundary, so ticked both boxes.
He started off running the boundary in the under 18's on a Saturday morning, then has moved up through Div 2 reserves & lately has been doing Div 1 reserves.
With his field umpiring, it had to be managed so he'd initially umpire the u9/10's at 8.50am on a Sunday morning at a ground near to where he was playing at lunchtime. After becoming comfortable he moved up to u11/12's immediately prior to his own game & when his side recently had a bye he did an u14's game. It was funny in a way as he umpired kids he'd recently played against.
Now, the WRFL don't just throw the kids in to see whether they sink or swim. They provide junior field umpires with a mentor who initially runs with them on the ground, gradually lessening their involvement at the kids become more competent. When the kids are OK to umpire the mentor will watch from the sidelines & at the breaks offer encouragement & advice.
I am wrapt with how the mentors (who are senior WRFL umpires) have looked after the kids & my son has learnt so much this season. All of the senior umpires he's come into contact with (both as a field & boundary umpire) has gone out of their way to offer encouragement & assist the kids in any way they can.
The kids who umpire do get well paid & in my son's case he's decided to have his payment deposited into a bank account he can't access as he wants to use umpiring money to buy a car when he's 18 & has already earnt $1,500.
He was one of only 4 first year umpires to get an appointment to field umpire a junior final in the first week of the finals & must have went OK as he got another game last weekend.
If you have children out there that are interested in taking up umpiring, certainly get them involved next year. It's amazing the confidence that grows as a result.
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