聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 When he was recently honoured for his commitment to the sport of baseball in Saskatchewan, Bill Wyatt of Carlyle said, 鈥淚t's humbling. When they read what you've done in front of 300 people, it's definitely very humbling.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 have a lot of people to thank and I had some great teachers. And I have to thank Lori, big-time, because I'm not around a lot in the summer.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Wyatt was named Sask Baseball's 2015 Senior Official of the Year at the Baseball Canada Awards banquet in on Nov. 7 in Saskatoon. The award not only recognized Wyatt's decades-long playing career and his twenty years as an umpire; the accolade also celebrated the umpire mentorship program he created in Carlyle, which 鈥渉as been instrumental in the development of young umpires in the southeast,鈥� according to Riley Singleton, who nominated Wyatt for the honour.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen I visit other communities and the discussion becomes the lack of officials in various sports, I am always very proud to talk about the quantity and quality of the umpires in the southeast because of the dedication and commitment from Bill Wyatt,鈥� says Singleton.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏ill has been involved in baseball in Saskatchewan for the better part of five decades as a player in his youth and adulthood, currently as a twilight player, as well as an umpire for just over 20 years,鈥� adds Singleton. 鈥淏ill's greatest contribution to baseball has been through umpiring. He has been an outstanding umpire in the Saskota Men's League in southeast Saskatchewan for numerous years. He has also umpired every level of minor ball in our area and across the country: from the youngsters to midget AAA. If there was a game in the Carlyle area, Bill was sure to be involved.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淗is desire to improve has allowed Bill to umpire in the WMBL (Western Major Baseball League), as well as at the provincial and national level,鈥� adds Singleton.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚n the past twelve years, Bill has been the leader of an umpire mentorship program based out of Carlyle,鈥� says Singleton. 鈥淏ill mentors 15 to 20 male and female umpires from 11-years-old and up. He is at a local diamond every night of the baseball season working alongside groups of school-aged and adult umpires, helping them to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to call the game.鈥澛�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou will always see Bill's truck parked in the 'Carlyle Minor Ball Umpire parking' zone at the diamonds,鈥� adds Singleton. 鈥淲ith the truck box cover open, and numerous Rubbermaid containers in the back. In these containers is all of the necessary equipment needed for his young umpires to use while officiating. He not only teaches and mentors these umpires, he supplies the equipment needed and brings it to the games for the kids to use.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淗e has been instrumental in the development of young umpires in the southeast.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Level One umpire and grade 12 student, Mitchell Morrison, 17, of Carlyle-who has officiated at both midget and senior games- has worked with Wyatt for four years and says, 鈥淏ill does a lot. Without him, baseball probably wouldn't happen in town.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淗e does so much. He drives us out of town to Weyburn and to other cities to make sure we get to our clinics; he helps young people out a lot. He gives us pointers and without him, I think we'd just have house league games.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏ill takes pride in what he does and he takes the game to a whole new level,鈥� adds Morrison.聽 鈥淒oing games with him is exciting. He has so much knowledge and experience and you always learn something.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽In addition to founding and facilitating the umpire mentorship program, Wyatt has played ball as a youth and as an adult and has also achieved Level Four status as an umpire, which allows him to officiate at the national level.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was always involved in ball of some kind,鈥� says Wyatt. 鈥淚 grew up in Kisbey and I was the oldest boy in the family. Times were tough back then, but my dad always made sure we had baseball. 鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 played hockey too, but I always looked forward to the spring-and baseball.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Wyatt says both his interest in all things baseball and necessity led to the formation of聽 mentoring program he founded for young umpires.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淔or about 10 or 12 years, there was a real need for umpires-especially for minor ball,鈥� says Wyatt. 鈥淚 was getting calls constantly for umping, so I thought: 'Why don't I just take it over and organize it?'鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淪ince then, we've mentored young umpires, but we've had some adults, too. We've had as many as 21 people registered in the program at one time, including adults, but we take young umpires from the age of 11.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Wyatt says the young officials only have to be one year older than the teams they're officiating.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e never send them out on the field without one of us there,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey take clinics and qualify, but a big part of what we emphasize is confidence.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淐onfidence is huge and helps the kids immensely on the field and off. It's beyond valuable.鈥� says Wyatt, recounting a situation where a young umpire was being indirectly questioned by a coach. 鈥淧eople around here are really good,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut there are occasions where someone will try and talk to an umpire when they shouldn't, especially when the umpire is younger.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat's why-along with self confidence-they really have to know the rules and their聽 responsibilities.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎nother thing is positioning, so they can really see what's going on during a game and to get the best view from behind the plate.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Wyatt's breadth and depth of baseball experience-along with his continued commitment to growth, makes him an invaluable resource to the umpires he mentors- and the results speak for themselves.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎 great success of Bill's happened this summer when one of his 16-year-old umpires was assigned to umpire at a 14U girls' national softball tournament in Victoria, B.C.,鈥� says Singleton.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat was Shelby McNair,鈥� says Wyatt. 鈥淚n Shelby's case, the young umpires were evaluated at that tournament. She was named best umpire and officiated at the gold medal game.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎fterwards, she texted me. It made me very proud.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 McNair is just one of Wyatt's success stories, and this season, young umpires he has mentored through the program have officiated at both junior and senior games throughout the area and have also earned assignments at the provincial and national levels.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 However, Wyatt continues to pursue his own baseball-related challenges, continuing to grow and learn. 鈥淚've umpired in two nationals,鈥� he says, when asked about some of his career highlights. 鈥淥ne in Nanaimo, B.C. and one in Saskatoon, and they were great experiences.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he most challenging was the WMBL. I'm grateful for the challenge, though,鈥� adds Wyatt. 鈥淭he calibre of ball at that level and the hierarchy with the manager, the coach, was just like the majors. The players are senior men from Canada and the U.S. who are at the level where they're often scouted and the more people there are in management, the more challenging it is as an official.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎t the national level, you're being evaluated,鈥� says Wyatt. 鈥淵ou're graded the whole time and it's on a pass-fail system and if you fail, you start over.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was nervous about that the first time, but once you get out there, the games are all the same.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚'd say the only difference is that the higher the level of ball, the more levels of game management you have to deal with. But really, you just get out there and do your job.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Wyatt's love of baseball extends to travelling to watch Major League games-especially if the Toronto Blue Jays are playing-and a list that includes visiting 鈥渟ome of the older stadiums like Fenway in Boston and Wrigley in Chicago.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚'm a baseball fan,鈥� says Wyatt. 鈥淚 don't care who I watch. But I'm still going to mentor kids. That's my passion.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Singleton says, 鈥淏ill has demonstrated integrity as an umpire, a mentor, and as a person. He is a remarkable role model in all sports,鈥� adding 鈥淗is knowledge of the sport as a fan, player, umpire and builder is astonishing and his dedication to this great sport is second to none.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat's a contribution that just can't be replaced.鈥�
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽
