A decision made by Officials Depot in the Fall of 2019 was made to give all new members that joined the local Houston TASO chapter for the 2020 season a free umpire shirt of their choosing. The only caveat was, they had to successfully complete all modules of their training.
Becoming a high school umpire in Texas takes a few steps. The first two thing you need to do is sign up online with the local chapter and the state organization. You can sign up with the local chapter by clicking here. To sign up with the state organization click here. After you have signed up and paid your local & state dues, you must attend the HTASO sanctioned umpire clinics. These clinics & orientations are free as long as you have registered with the local & state organizations. These clinics usually begin in early December and run through January of the following month. Click here to check out the clinic schedule. Once you've completed all these steps, it’s time to purchase a uniform.
We get it, we also umpire, and know how pricey all this can be. As an incentive not only to recruit more members to HTASO Baseball, but also to help those who actually join, we decided to give everyone a free umpire jersey. We passed out a few of them at the January meetings and then the majority of them over the past two weeks when some of the business restrictions were limited. In total we gave away 24 shirts.
Umpiring is a passion, hobby, and craft. For a lot of people that want to join, the financial burdens they incur along the way might be a reason for them not to join. That shouldn't be the case. We hope to continue this program for new umpires that join progressing into the 2021 season.
Owner
Michael Dorantes
--The following is a message from HTASO President Ed Nelson----
The 2020 high school baseball season will be remembered in history as the season cut short by Covid-19. One of the great things about this season is the new members that joined out Houston baseball chapter. We asked for them to attend Orientation, training classes, membership meeting and scrimmages. These dedicated members performed these required tasks and when it came down working games we were cut at the beginning of district play. As President I personally feel all our dedicated members were dealt a raw deal.
I am proud that a great member Michael Dorantes with his uniform company Officials Depot. Michael understood the cost that it takes for a new member to invest in getting started. Michael stepped up and donated each new member their first uniform shirt. It is people like Michael that allows us to continue to be a brotherhood, during the good times and bad.
I am proud to be President of this organization, my goal is to give every member the opportunity to develop and represent the great sport of high school baseball.
Ed Nelson – TASO Baseball President
For more information on how to become a high school umpire in Houston, TX please click here.
For more information on how to become a youth baseball umpire in Houston, TX please click here.