The umpire, referee and official shortage in junior high and high school athletics has been well-publicized the past several years. Leagues and associations across the country have been scrambling to have enough people to officiate games and matches. Some games have had to have been postponed, or even canceled, due to the shortage. Many states have been proactive in putting on and sponsoring clinics to help alleviate the problem. West Central High School Athletic Director Joel Zaiser is one of the area administrators that have seen the decline in officials for the West Central part of Illinois. As Ad, he has seen first hand how difficult it can be to have all of the Heat events covered. He also knows a little bit about officiating, as he has been a softball and basketball official since his days in college. Zaiser is putting on a summer umpire clinic on April 8th to help anyone that is interested in becoming a baseball or softball umpire or a newer umpire looking to make themselves even better.
For more information on the clinic, go to the West Central Athletic Association Facebook page. For the entire interview with Zaiser, go to the SPORTS PODCAST page. Besides umpiring, he gives a recap of the winter sports season for the West Central Heat and a look at the upcoming sports season.
