Gym Offers Free Jiu Jitsu Lessons for Umpires
It seems like there is a kerfuffle at a baseball or softball tournament every weekend these days. Most of the time they’re between a coach and an umpire, but sometimes they’re between a parent and an umpire. Unfortunately, some of these kerfuffles have resulted in assaults and arrests. Because of these crazy coaches and parents, many umpires have become fearful for their safety. A local jiu jitsu gym has come to the rescue.
Valley Jiu Jitsu Academy will offer free jiu jitsu lessons for baseball and softball umpires. I was able to catch up with the gym’s owner and Professor, Gordon Gracie. Gracie said, “My son plays travel ball, and we’ve seen quite a few dust ups between coaches and umpires. It’s crazy that people act like that at sporting events for kids, but that’s the way it is these days. I’ve had a few umpires come up to me recently, and say they wanted to start taking lessons from me. So, I decided I would do some free lessons for umpires only. I appreciate what they do, and I love to help the community. We started lessons on Monday night, and I had 6 umps show up. I’ve talked to a couple since Monday that plan to come next week, so I think we’ll have even more join us.”
I was able to talk with a couple of the umpires that attended the initial training. One ump said, “Look, people are crazy these days. You’ve seen the videos on social media. I just want to be able to defend myself. I’ve never gotten into a physical altercation with a coach or parent, but I’ve had a couple close calls. I just wanna be ready, because I think it’ll probably happen sooner or later.”
Another ump said, “Look, I can throw hands. I can defend myself. Thank God I haven’t had to yet, but that time will probably come. But, I want to learn jiu jitsu so I submit a crazy coach. Wouldn’t it be crazy to see a psycho coach have to tap out on the field? I hope it never happens, but I wanna be ready.”
Gracie’s free lessons for umpires will last for 10 weeks. Every umpire that completes his program will receive a certificate and small jiu jitsu patches to wear on their uniforms. Gracie and the umpires hope that patch will deter some of the crazy aggressive behavior of the coaches and parents.
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