Little League Baseball is organized to teach children what's best about sporting competition: the rewards of teamwork, hard work and sportsmanship. While it can be frustrating to see your child on the losing end of a bad call, a Little League game is the last place you want to lose your cool. After all, two teams of children will be watching your behavior and remember it years down the road. For this reason, Little League regulations require parents and coaches follow a specific protocol for appealing any decision made by an umpire.
Step 1
Ask yourself how important it is to appeal the call in the first place. If the call is questionable, it's probably all right to let the call stand. Only appeal a call if it was clearly a mistake, rather than a difference of opinion.
Step 2
Bring your concern to the attention of your child's coach. Do this quickly, as the window for appealing a call ends when the next pitch is thrown. As a parent, you are not allowed to appeal a call formally. Follow the rest of these directions only if you are the coach of a team affected by the bad umpire call.
Step 3
Signal the umpire for his attention. In most cases, umpires know which calls might be challenged, so he should be easy to signal.
Step 4
Ask the umpire for a conference. Approach with neutral body language and calmly explain your side of things. Support your argument with the specific rule you feel the umpire failed to observe correctly.
Step 5
Listen to the umpire's counter argument. If you feel you were misunderstood, try once -- again politely -- to make yourself understood.
Step 6
Wait for the umpire to deliver his final decision. Accept that decision with good grace and allow the game to continue.
References
- Little League Online
- "Managing Little League Baseball;" Ned McIntosh; 2008
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