Cleveland Brown, left, and Stephen Belanger pack up to leave a training session Saturday at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville. The session was aimed at recruiting and training baseball and softball umpires, which are desperately needed in the region for youth and other games. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE — Amid a nationwide shortage of sports officials, The Alfond Youth & Community Center has launched a series of clinics aimed at training a new generation of quality youth umpires and referees.

The first event in the series was held Saturday on baseball and softball umpires at the center’s gymnasium at 126 North St. in Waterville.

The clinic drew a handful of high school and junior high students on a rainy Saturday morning, all eager to learn more about becoming umpires in time for the summer youth sports season.

“Today was trying to sell officiating,” said Stephen Belanger, Waterville’s district commissioner for USA Softball.

Belanger said there are many reasons to get into officiating. It’s good pay, for one: Working a tournament weekend this summer could easily earn an official around $600, he said.

All of the kids who showed up Saturday are also athletes, Belanger said, and may be interested in officiating as a way to stay involved in their sport after graduating from high school.

Since some coaches, parents and fans openly berate officials for making necessary calls, “getting people in the door is only half the battle,” said Alfond’s athletics director, Beth LaFountain. “Keeping them on the field is what we’re trying to do.”

LaFountain, who played softball at Thomas College in Waterville, said sports officials are “in a crisis situation.” In recent years, she said, baseball, softball, lacrosse and basketball games across central Maine have frequently been canceled, rescheduled or run half-staffed.

Cleveland Brown, left, and Stephen Belanger leave a training session Saturday at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville. The session was aimed at recruiting and training baseball and softball umpires, which are desperately needed in the region for youth and other games. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Staffing shortages hit youth leagues particularly hard, LaFountain said. When few sports officials are available, varsity and junior high games are prioritized, and umpires are pulled from youth games.

In part, it’s the poor treatment of sports officials nationwide that accounts for their dwindling numbers, LaFountain said.

In 2019, Officially Human conducted a survey of nearly 19,000 officials in all sports at the high school level and below. The organization, which promotes the respectful treatment of sports officials, found that 60% of respondents said verbal abuse from parents and fans would be their top reason for quitting.

In 2017, a survey conducted by the National Association of Sports Officials found that 84% of officials felt they were treated unfairly by spectators.

The crisis worsened during the pandemic, which saw a generation of sports officials head into early retirement. Officially Human found that 45% of 2019 survey respondents felt they had fewer than six years left in their officiating careers and expected to be done by 2025.

To retain sports officials of all ages, LaFountain said, a serious cultural shift is needed, one that would bring more focus on youth athletes and the love of the game and less focus on adults and the toxic environment created by spectators during games.

The AYCC is working to find solutions to the crisis. In addition to hosting officiating clinics, the center is looking into local policy changes that could allow administrators to safely remove spectators without stopping the games.

This next generation of umpires, Belanger said, will have to be trained in de-escalation techniques. But the consensus among sports officials, he said, is that coaches should lead the way in opposing poor sportsmanship.

Coaches show parents and kids what is acceptable conduct, Belanger said, and they can step in when spectators take things too far and begin to harass officials — many of whom are kids themselves.

Belanger said the students attending today’s clinic could be certified to officiate baseball or softball games by May. The next step would be getting the prospects into a classroom to learn the rules of the game inside and out. After passing an open book test, they’ll finish their training by umpiring games alongside a senior official to guide them.

For those who missed Saturday’s event, another clinic for baseball and softball umpires is planned for April 30 at the center. Clinics for those interested in officiating other sports will be posted to the center’s website.