Official Leadership Program

The Official Leadership Program

Major League Baseball Umpires know there is a national shortage of sports officials so they are using their role in sports as a way to inspire and help train the next generation of umpires.

Get the lowdown on this free, 6-week course teaching teens umpiring mechanics on the field and life skills in the classroom by clicking below.

On Deck: Upcoming OLP Events

Philadelphia Phillies Urban Youth Academy

January 7- February 11

(Wednesdays) 6:30 PM -8:30 PM

Chicago Baseball & Educational Academy

January 18 – February 8 –

(Sundays) – 2:30 PM -5:30 PM

(4 weeks)

Detroit Tigers & Wayne State University

January 25-March 1

(Sundays) 2 PM-5 PM

(Six weeks)

MLB Youth Academy Cincinnati

April 12-May 17

(Sundays) 9:30 AM-12 PM

(6 weeks)

Official Leadership Program New York

February 29-March 23

Locations & Team Partners

(Click on each location for photo galleries)

MLB Youth Academy Cincinnati

Chicago Baseball & Educational Academy

Atlanta Braves Foundation

Houston Astros Youth Academy

MLB Youth Academy Compton

Texas Rangers Youth Academy

Little League West Region
San Bernardino, California

Girls Clinic

Iowa Cubs and Central Iowa Sports

Mariners Training Center and
Baseball Beyond Borders (RBI)

Detroit Tigers and Wayne State University

Minnesota Twins Community Fund

There is a huge shortage of officials across the country, and it is resulting in the cancellation of games and tournaments.

At UMPS CARE Charities – the official philanthropy of the Major League Baseball Umpires – we realized we are in a unique position to make significant change for youth sports. Not only are we inspiring the next generation of umpires by using MLB umpires as role models, but we also are helping communities add skilled, young umpires to their youth sports lineups.

UMPS CARE Charities created a 6-week course designed to teach teens basic umpiring mechanics for youth baseball and softball games. But we are also imparting life skills to the next generation of umpires – taking time in the classroom to learn goal setting, perseverance and financial literacy.

In addition, we will provide connections with Major League Baseball Umpires so students can hear their stories and learn from their journeys. We teamed up with the National Baseball of Hall of Fame to create our classroom curriculum and with local assignors to serve as instructors and mentors on the field.

We are grateful for the support of The National Baseball Hall of Fame, Evolve 2 Excellence, Jim Joyce, Jim Kirk and his team at Ump Attire, Major League Baseball Umpire Association and Officials Depot.

Special thanks to our sponsors for making this program possible: the Major League Baseball Youth Development Foundation, the LA 84 Foundation, Whataburger, the Pedro Gomez Foundation, Gatorade, the Iowa Foundation and the family of Eric Cooper and friends and family and friends of Jay Pierce.

We also are grateful for the support of the MLB Youth Academies, RBI organizations and MLB teams that have believed in this program and helped us grow it.

Developing Teen Leaders On and Off the Field

There is a growing crisis across the country with a shortage of sports officials impacting all youth sports. Through the Official Leadership Program, UMPS CARE will be part of the solution by teaching social and emotional learning skills and umpiring mechanics while providing mentorship and a direct line to employment to teens in under-resourced communities.

Major League Inspiration

MLB Umpires want to lend a hand to teens and introduce the next generation of umpires to the industry. MLB Umpires take time out to visit Official Leadership Program education sites and invite these teens for big league experiences at MLB ballparks. Numerous MLB Umpires have participated in imparting umpire instruction but also meeting with graduates at big league games. In addition, retired MLB Umpires such as Jim Joyce share stories from their career and teach lessons about sportsmanship.

What We Teach

UMPS CARE developed a 6-week course, teaching social and emotional learning skills in the classroom. In tandem with educators from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, UMPS CARE created a curriculum to teach skills such as goal setting, perserverance and financial literacy through the lens of baseball. We recruit umpire educators to teach this material, and make an effort to attract educators from the communities in which the teens live as we know it is important for teens to have positive role models and people who reflect their community as leaders.

Our Curriculum

Ready To Play Ball

UMPS CARE prepares each umpire educator to train teens in basic umpire mechanics that translate to both baseball and softball. Teens from our program have gone straight to work games at their local ballparks! UMPS CARE works with local assignors and mentors to keep kids in the game!

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Direct Line To Employment

Did you know that umpires can make upwards of $75 per game? That is a lot better than working a typical teenager job at minimum wage. UMPS CARE connects teens who complete our program with local umpire assignors to get them working right away. We also know that buying equipment can be costly, so we have teamed up with partners like Ump Attire and Officials Depot to help supply teens with equipment, removing as many barriers as we can for these teens to play ball!

Getting Results

UMPS CARE is tracking our success using a tool called Hello Insight, which measures what our students are learning and charts their engagement and improvement throughout the six weeks of this program. See what we’ve learned so far!