Santa Monica Girls Fastpitch's Junior Umpire program is now in its thirteenth year and for 2023 the umpire team is 30 strong.  Our umpires are all USA Softball trained, and more than half are USA Softball Certified. 

The junior umpire program is open to players and former players of the program, entering their second year of 12U (or later). Attendance at USA Softball Umpire clinics is mandatory, and these begin in December and January before the start of Spring season.  It’s a chance to learn a skill and earn some money officiating in a game you love.  Training for the 2023 season is now closed.  If you’re interested in becoming a junior umpire for the 2024 season, please contact Tim Kohut (timothykohut@gmail.com).  Training will begin in December.

So. Cal. USA Softball Umpire staff has been very supportive of the program, and Santa Monica junior umpires have been invited to umpire District, State, and National USA Softball tournaments.  In response to a request by So. Cal. USA Softball, SMGFP has produced a "Blueprint" for its junior umpire program.  This blueprint is updated yearly to document the progress of the program, to identify goals and objectives, and to share and encourage other leagues to follow in our footsteps.  The SMGFP "Blueprint" for junior umpiring can be downloaded here:

1. Honor all contracts regardless of possible inconvenience or financial basis.
2. Study the rules of the game diligently, observe the work of other good officials, and attempt to improve at all times.
3. Remember that while your work as an umpire is important, you must conduct yourself in such a way that spectator attention is directed to the players during the game and not at you.
4. Dress and maintain your appearance in a manner befitting the dignity and importance of the umpire.
5. Be fair and unbiased in your decisions, rendering them without regard to the score or the quality of the play on the field.
6. Cooperate and be professional in your associations with your fellow umpires and do nothing to cause them public embarrassment.
7. Be firm but not overbearing; positive but never rude; dignified but never ‘cocky.’ Remember the good umpire doesn’t have to have the last word.
8. Be prepared both physically and mentally to administer the game.
9. Do not give information which might be used by a team’s future opponent.
10. Keep in mind that the game is more important than the wishes of any individual player or coach or the ambitions of any individual umpire
11. Do not smoke on or in the vicinity of the playing field, nor drink any alcoholic beverages before the game you are to work.
12. As a representative of Santa Monica Girls’ Fastpitch, you are at all times a representative of our league. Smoking, drinking alcohol, using any drug deemed illegal (for adults or minors), or behaving in a manner unbecoming of an umpire at any time is not allowed and may be grounds for disciplinary action and/or expulsion from the junior umpire program.