Banneker City Little League

News Detail

28

Feb, 2026

Umpire Clinic

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the 2026 Spring Season of the Banneker City Umpires Association (BCUA)!

The BCUA is made up of volunteer adult and junior umpires who serve the Banneker City Little League (BCLL) community. This community includes active and prospective junior umpires, their parents, community members who have volunteered to umpire this season, and coaches and assistant coaches who will be supporting the league by umpiring two or more games this season.

My name is Aris, and I have been part of the Banneker community for over seven years as a parent, coach, and umpire. I have two children in the league—my son plays in Juniors, and my daughter plays in Majors. I currently serve as BCLL’s Umpire-in-Chief.

Annual Umpire Clinic

This Sunday, league founder and current Player Agent Supreme Aquil will host our annual umpire clinic. During the clinic, he will cover key rules, mechanics, and positioning to supplement the online “Become an Umpire” training videos available on our website, which are required before officiating regular season games.

Following the clinic, we will move onto the field for sandlot games, where participants will have an opportunity to practice umpiring in a live game environment. Experienced umpires will also be on the field to provide feedback and guidance.

Sunday, March 15 — Event Details
Location: Banneker Upper Field
Start Time: 1:00pm
Duration: Approximately 1 hour

Uniform
If you have an umpire uniform from previous seasons, please wear it:

Charcoal pants with black belt
Light blue short-sleeve polo
Black shoes (steel toe shoes if you have them). League reimburses you if you purchase your own.
Black hat

Plate gear (leg guards, chest protector, and face mask with throat guard) will be provided.

If you do not yet have a uniform, please do your best to match the description above. Official uniforms will be provided before the start of the season.

Important: All male umpires must wear a protective cup.

Sandlot Games
After the clinic we will run informal sandlot games so umpires can get real-game experience.

Girls Softball Sandlot Game (1:45pm)
Duration: ~30-45 minutes
Participants:

Girls softball players, ages 8 - 12

8U/AAA Sandlot Games (2:15pm) Duration: ~30-45 minutes
Participants:

Coed baseball players, ages 8 - 10

Majors Sandlot Game (2:45pm) Duration: ~30-45 minutes
Participants:

Coed baseball players, ages 11 - 12

Junior League Sandlot Game (3:30pm) Duration: ~45-60 minutes
Participants:

Coed baseball players, ages 13 - 14

Coaches, please share this information with your teams. RSVP here: https://near.tl/sm/j0Nppx_CH

RSVP
Please RSVP for the clinic using the link below so we can gather basic information and plan which umpires will officiate each sandlot game.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5-rbuYdOJBJbtDmrnfSHMzCDOHMwFM16GGQjHc4P7ysDklA/viewform?usp=dialog

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]

Note for T-Ball & AA Coaches

It is great that you’re getting an early glimpse of what lies ahead in BCLL for you and your players.

As players move up through the league, coaches play an important role in supporting umpiring duties. Beginning in AAA (League Ages 9–10), we set the expectation that coaches and assistant coaches will officiate two games per season.

Banneker intentionally maintains an all-volunteer umpire corps. The league provides training, equipment, and ongoing support to help grow the BCUA.

Umpiring not only helps the league function—it also makes you a better coach and is a meaningful way to serve the community. Simply put, the games cannot happen without umpires.

T-Ball & AA coaches are more than welcome to attend the training this Sunday, even if you do not plan to umpire this season. If you are interested in umpiring, please reach out to me directly or let me know at the clinic so I can make sure you have the support you need.