Notes from Town Square: The role of the youth league official

What’s even tougher than being a youth sports coach or parent?

The answer is being a youth sports referee or umpire.

The youth sports official has one of the most demanding and essential roles in youth sports. It is obvious that the youth sports official is responsible for enforcing the rules of the game, but what else is the official responsible for?

A good ref or umpire should check to see if a child is injured on a play, make sure players and coaches practice good sportsmanship, encourage players that may be having a rough time, try to make a call as fairly as possible, and to teach the pla...