The Day Baseball Became No Fun At All For Canton Teen

CANTON, MI – Baseball is America’s game, right?

Not if you ask Katelyn Sherwood, a 15-year-old Canton resident who took herself out of the game after facing a barrage of criticism as an umpire for the Greater Canton Youth Baseball Softball Association.

Sherwood took the position, which paid $35 a game, seriously. She called the game as she saw it, she told The Canton Observer.

Most criticism didn’t come from the 9- and 10-year-olds playing the game, but from adults who disagreed with her calls.

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Sherwood said the bad behavior started with coaches, then escalated to parents, then to the kids who mimicked the adults.

“It just wasn’t a fun experience,” said Sherwood, a sophomore at Bellville High School and a former catcher on the Canton Cardinals travel boys’ baseball team.

Not only did she quit her job as an umpire, she quit baseball. Instead, she’s focusing on playing basketball.

Sherwood’s exodus illustrates a problem in youth sports leagues, where it’s increasingly hard to find people who are willing to officiate games and matches in a hostile atmosphere.

» You can read more about that on hometownlife.com.

Image credit: Matt McGee via Flickr / Creative Commons