When you look out on your local league field, watching a practice or game, you will see a shortstop dreaming about the day they might compete at the Little League Softball® World Series. Or, you may see a pitcher, hoping to one day throw a curveball as a Major Leaguer. And, if you look behind home plate, you will see an umpire who, like the players, has their sights on a dream assignment.
For Jason Wetherford, 2026 Little League Baseball® World Series umpire, what began as part of his responsibilities as a Little League® manager quickly turned into a love for umpiring, sparking his desire to one day call balls and strikes on the biggest stage in youth sports. Wetherfords’ fellow 2026 LLBWS umpire and Italy-native Luca Morini’s journey started in 2008 when his dad asked him if he wanted to start umpiring like him. Eighteen years later, Morini honored his late father as he stepped behind home plate at Lamade Stadium for the first time.
Tyrone Powell’s journey began at just 15 years old, when he stepped in at a game that was short an umpire, and he quickly found his passion for the role. As his experience grew, so did his aspirations, and he received his first LLWS tournament experience at the Senior League Baseball World Series. Years later, in 2026, he umpired his first Little League Baseball Region Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.
For Michelle DeRosa, stepping away from the diamond was never an option. After coaching her daughters for years, it was time for them to hear a new voice in the dugout, so when her local league suggested she try umpiring, she jumped at the opportunity. What started as a new way to stay involved in the game eventually led her to reach her dream of umpiring at the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Oregon. Years later, she continues to volunteer as an evaluator and on the Selection Committee, giving hundreds of other umpires the opportunity to live out their dream.
To better understand what it took to reach their dream assignments and hear advice for other umpires, Little League sat down for a “Full-Count Conversation” with Wetherford, Morini, Powell, and DeRosa.
1-0: What inspired you to become an umpire, and how did your umpiring journey begin?
Luca Morini (LM): “My father inspired me because he was an umpire, and he ask me to begin my journey in 2008. That was 18 years ago, and I’m really proud of it. My father passed away last October, and I know that he would be proud of me for participating in the Little League Baseball World Series. That makes this experience even more special.”
Jason Wetherford (JW): “My umpiring journey began probably the same way thousands and thousands of other umpiring journeys started — my son was playing Little League. In order to be a manager in the league my son was in, our team was responsible for covering 10 games as an umpire, too. I grew up playing baseball, but I had never umpired before. My first game was a Major Division game. They put me behind the plate. I guarantee you that was probably one of the worst-umpired games in the history of baseball. I know I did a terrible job, and I remember getting yelled at about different things. But I wanted to manage my son’s team, so I was willing to do whatever it took. The more I did it, the more I fell in love with it. I literally fell in love with umpiring. I love everything about it. I love the craft, working hard at it, going to clinics, watching great umpires, and learning from them. I started because I had to, and I just fell in love with it.”
Tyrone Powell (TP): “My journey started back in 1989. A buddy of mine was coaching a team as part of a community service opportunity, and I had gone out a couple of times to help him. One day, there wasn’t an umpire available for the game, so my buddy and I decided to umpire it ourselves. We both loved it, and that’s where everything started. I’ve been a Little League umpire ever since.”
Michelle DeRosa (MD): “I played softball throughout high school and college, and when I had my two daughters, I got them involved in the game as well. I coached them as they made their way through Little League, but when they reached around 10 and 12 years old, they got to the age where they didn’t want to listen to their mom as their coach anymore. I still wanted to be involved in the game, so I started looking into umpiring because I knew there was always a need for officials. My local league was happy to have me and pretty much threw me into it. I was so naive and I quickly realized there was so much more to learn, especially knowing the difference between knowing the rules of the game and knowing how to officiate it.”
1-1: What was the process like working toward your dream assignment?
LM: “It took a lot of hard work. I began my first game ever making mistakes on the field. In Italy, umpiring can be very difficult because people can be tough on you. But with all the suggestions and advice from my dad, my mentors, and all the people I knew through my journey, I improved step by step. In 2022, I got to participate in my first Little League Region tournament in the Netherlands. There was some luck involved in getting opportunity, but it was an important step in my journey.”
JW: “When I first started, I had no concept of how any of it worked. I had seen the Little League World Series on TV, of course, but I didn’t understand how you went from being a local league umpire to being on arguably one of the biggest umpiring stages in the world. As I started realizing how much I loved umpiring, I had some great mentors who really took me under their wing, showing me the ropes, and working a lot of games with me. I started doing more All-Star games and attending clinics at the West Region Headquarters in San Bernardino, California. I received my first Region Tournament assignment in 2019, but then COVID happened. I eventually worked my first Region Tournament in 2022 and another in 2024. That’s when I really started putting my name in for Williamsport. Around 2023 and 2024, I was telling everybody that my goal was to get to the Little League World Series. To finally get that notification saying I had been selected was pretty incredible.”
TP: “In the beginning, my dream was to work a District Tournament game because the Little League World Series at the time ws not as easily accessible for people to watch like it is now. I remember that the District Administrator in my home district wouldn’t let me umpire district games because he thought I was too young. So, I went to District 27, where the District Administrator gave me an opportunity. I started umpiring alongside guys who were much older than me, and at that point, that was my dream. As I got older and continued developing, I started working more upper-division games because most of the umpires in my district wanted to work Major Division games. Eventually, my goal became working the Senior League Baseball World Series. When I finally got that opportunity, it was unbelievable. The people I met, the support that was there, and the opportunity to work with great umpires made it an incredible experience. I loved every minute of it.”
MD: “Once I started officiating district games, I had the opportunity to meet our District Umpire-In-Chief, who encouraged me to consider officiating high school softball as well. I didn’t even realize that was an opportunity, but I was immediately interested. That conversation really started my training and put me on the path I am today. Early on, I quickly realized how much I needed to learn. At the time, there weren’t as many formal Little League training opportunities, so I spent my first few years working alongside experienced district umpires, learning from them and picking things up along the way. As I gained experience, my goals started to grow. At first, I was excited about the possibility of working a state tournament, but once I learned about region tournaments and the LLSWS, I realized there were even bigger opportunities out there.”
2-1: What was your reaction when you found out you had been selected for your dream assignment?
LM: “I received the email at about 2 a.m. in Italy because of the time difference. My phone made a noise, and when I looked at the email, I read the second line congratulating me on being selected for the World Series. I literally jumped on my bed screaming and woke everyone up! I was so excited because it was only one month after my father had passed away. It meant so much to me because it was the first good thing that happened after losing him. So, I was doubly happy.”
JW: “I couldn’t believe it. It just didn’t seem real. I got the email, but then I received the letter, and seeing my name on that letter as somebody who had been selected to go to the Little League World Series was unbelievable. I’ve always loved umpiring because I love the actual craft, but I also love being a good umpire for the kids in Little League. I want them to have good games and a great experience. Getting that opportunity meant that all the work from the local league games to district games, All-Star games, Section and State Tournaments had paid off. My family, my wife and my kids, have put up with me being gone on Saturdays for five or six hours to umpire games. The biggest thing was the satisfaction of knowing that I had worked so hard to put myself in a position to potentially be selected, and then to actually get that opportunity was very rewarding.”
TP: “When I was selected to work the East Region Tournament, the first thing I felt was surprise. I was surprised that, as a West Region umpire, I was going to Bristol, Connecticut and I was really excited. Then I settled into a list of wonderings. Who else was going to be there? What is this going to look like? I’m not going to know anyone. So another umpire from the West and I decided to attend umpire training before the tournament, which gave us an opportunity to meet people and become familiar with the area. Once we got there, it was amazing. We just got out there, worked together, and had an unbelievable experience. The level of support we had was so great. It was truly amazing.”
MD: “I’ve had two moments in my officiating career: being selected for the LLSWS in Portland and being chosen to officiate a high school state final. Both were goals I never imagined I could achieve when I first started. Even as I gained experience and confidence, there was always a little self-doubt. When that letter finally arrived saying I was selected for Portland, my reaction was simply, ‘Wow, I made it. I can’t believe I did it,’. This moment was incredibly rewarding because it reminded me how much hard work it took to get there. It was that feeling of realizing I had accomplished something I once thought was impossible, all because I worked hard and didn’t let self-doubt stop me.”
2-2: What was some adversity you face on your journey to your dream assignment and how did you overcome it?
LM: “One of my biggest challenges was my first game in Italy’s top division. It was the first time I was in a stadium with so many people, and because I’m naturally shy, I was really scared. I remember the first three pitches of the game — I was completely frozen. My mentor encouraged me, and after I made that first call, everything changed. It was like riding a bike.”
JW: “I think one of the biggest challenges has been self-confidence and knowing that I belong or that I’m capable. Even with going to Williamsport, there’s definitely a little bit of imposter syndrome. You ask yourself, ‘Do I really belong here?’ I worked the championship plate for the Northwest Region Tournament in 2024, and there were things I didn’t do as well as I should have. But I think it’s about working through those moments and understanding that you’re going to make mistakes. When you mess something up or don’t do something the right way, you have to be able to process it mentally and know that you’ll get the next one. You can recognize that you made a mistake, but you’re learning. Those challenges create learning opportunities.”
TP: “Adversity is an interesting word when it comes to Little League and volunteering because there are a lot of things that can happen. You might not be able to get as many reps as you want in a specific spot. I can’t think of a big adversity that has precluded me from getting after my dream, but I think being able to be mentally tough, sort through what needs to be sorted through to see the information and feedback and make adjustment in order to go forward, that is important for moments of adversity.”
MD: “One of the biggest challenges I faced early in my officiating career was realizing how much I didn’t know. I thought everything would come naturally, but once I stepped on the field, everything seemed to go wrong. I made so many mistakes, and I left the field one game in tears, questioning whether officiating was really for me. Athletics had always come naturally to me so struggling with something I thought I would be good at was incredibly difficult. I remember thinking, ‘I can’t do this. It’s too hard.’ But, looking back, I realized that I simply haven’t been taught everything I need to know. What helped me overcome these moments was having someone who believed in me and was willing to help me improve. One of my fellow officials pulled me aside and reassured me that I could do it. They offered to work with me, go through positioning and mechanics, and assign me to as many games as possible to help me feel comfortable.”
3-2: Reflecting on your journey, what advice would you give another Little League umpire working toward their assignment?
LM: “Always, always be a sponge. We have to learn as much as we can from each other, both the good and the bad. When you take the good things, you improve. When you learn from the bad things, you become a better umpire because you learn to avoid mistakes and certain behaviors. Listen and practice because practice makes perfect, or at least you can try to reach perfection. When you’re on the field, you’re under pressure, but I think pressure has to be a privilege because you’re the one standing in the middle of the field instead of someone else.”
JW: “I think the biggest thing is working with umpires who are better than you. Ultimately, that’s the difference-maker. It’s very easy to just cover games because local leagues and districts always need umpires. But I’ve always tried to work with umpires who are better than me because that’s when you get the feedback that helps you improve. I don’t care if you do 200 games a year. If you’re not getting feedback, you might be doing 200 games without improving. Someone might notice something about your stance or positioning that could help you see a pitch or a tag at the plate better. If nobody is giving you that feedback, you’re not going to grow as an umpire. I also think it’s important to push yourself outside your comfort zone. Work bigger games and take on challenging assignments because if you stay in your comfort zone, you’re not going to grow.”
TP: “Embrace the blueprint. One of the coolest things I’ve heard in the last couple of years is to be someone that others want to root for. That can be difficult because people want to compete for assignments. They want to compete for the final game or certain positions. But ultimately, those things are out of our control. Our job is to do the best we can and provide the best experience possible. My advice would be to embrace the blueprint and be someone that others can root for. Take advantage of all the information Little League International has made available to help umpires improve. Some people might be set in their ways because that’s how they’ve always done things. But to truly develop as umpires, we have to continue to evolve and grow.”
MD: “My biggest piece of advice is to not be so hard on yourself and to give yourself some grace. Umpiring is a learning process, and no one steps onto the field knowing everything. Even after all these years, I’m still learning something new every time I officiate. There are always situations that challenge you, and that’s part of what helps you grow and improve. Also, to anyone working toward their dream assignment is to keep learning, accept feedback, and never let self-doubt or the opinions of others hold you back. You belong on that field, and with hard work, confidence, and a willingness to grow, you can accomplish more than you ever thought possible.”
Umpires interested in working a 2027 Little League International Tournament are able to apply exclusively through the Little League Umpire Registry before December 31, 2026. Little League International expects to complete the 2027 tournament assignment selection process by the end of January 2027, and individual notifications are expected to be distributed in February of 2027.
Looking to step up to the plate and be an umpire this season? Visit LittleLeague.org/Umpire to learn more and find a league near you. Also, don’t forget to shop for all your umpire polos, caps, and accessories by visiting ShopLittleLeague.org.