I have told the reader that the best way to improve your game is to be able to concentrate on it. Despite what you may have been led to believe, you cannot do your best when there is disharmony all around you. Umpires are deceiving themselves when they say they ignore the screaming and yelling directed at them from coaches, players, and fans.

Fans???

Yes, fans!

At the level that I work, I have to ignore the fans. But the youth ball umpire does not. If I need to instill one thing into the youth ball umpires  I train, it is to take a behind-the-scenes role in eliminating fan negativity.

 Ignore the know-it all, big dogs in your association who say otherwise. It is very unlikely that the big dogs are working kiddie ball anyway.  Likewise, ignore the popular myth as expressed below in a quote from the officiating.com news section where articles about sports officiating are reprinted.

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