The 2019 Season has come to a close, with high school State finals finishing all action the week of May 20 in Historic Dodgertown. BCSA Umpires officiated 463 JV and Varsity pre-season, regular season, District and Regional championship games, with 96 games rained out/rescheduled. It was a Herculean logistical effort by first-year booking commissioner Susan Jaramillo and assistant booking commissioner Mark Levine. All BCSA members should thank them for their tireless efforts.

Two games remain to be played staffed by BCSA umpires. A State 2A Semifinal Game and the BCAA All-Star Game.

The BCSA will send one crew to the State Championships this year on Tuesday, May 21:

• Chris Kroon, crew chief,
• Peter Ableton, umpire
• David Meyer, umpire

Congratulations for being selected to represent the BCSA at the State Championships.

BCSA Umpires selected to work the BCAA All-Star Game on Tuesday, May 21, 6pm at McArthur High School:

• David Broderick, crew chief
• Dwight Prude, umpire
• Paul Sjorgren, umpire
• Paul Osborn, umpire

Congratulations on receiving this honor.

This year's annual banquet was held at Duffy's Sports Grill in Plantation. The following awards were given out:

• Rookie of the Year: Emma Bush
  • Given to 1st or 2nd year umpires, Emma displayed great prowess and skill, rising from JV games to working plate in a Regional Semifinal game
• Most Improved: Bryan Curtis
  • Given to umpires with 2-5 years experience, Bryan attended every event, was a go-to umpire for any situation and improved tremendously over the season, earning playoff honors
• Appreciation: Clayton Boyd
  • Clayton was given the award on retiring from umpiring, his dedication to the sport, and his service as BCSA Vice President

At the last general meeting elections were held for Vice President, Treasurer and Member-at-Large. The Treasurer was re-elected, and a new Vice President and Member-at-Large were voted into office. The BCSA Executive Board for the 2019-2020 academic year:

• President: Rob Cheslow
• Vice President: Chris Wildermuth
• Treasurer: Jay Cohen
• Secretary: Chris Wildermuth (temp)
• Member-at-Large: Alan Freedman

Congratulations to the 2019-2020 Board and thank you to the 2018-2019 Board Members Vice President Clayton Boyd and Member-at-Large Chris Rubin for their service to the BCSA and Broward County high school softball community.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you all back for another hopefully great year umpiring for the BCSA.  As your new Association President, I’m looking forward to this season and trying to make it fun and rewarding for us all.  I’d be remiss if I failed to remind you all that Broward County is the best in softball in the State of Florida.  We had more teams represented in the State Championships last season than any other county in the state.  We see the more competitive contests on a regular basis than any other county in the state.  That we can officiate these games is something we all should be proud of and thankful for.  Along with that honor comes a responsibility to constantly strive to get better at what we do.  That takes training.  Training both on the field and in the classroom.  Those who participate in the training sessions can be expected to be rewarded for their efforts.

As president, together with your elected board of directors, I will try to make changes reflecting the concerns many of you have expressed in the past.  We are working on many initiatives to address the issues brought up last season.  It would be extremely helpful if, before the next meeting, you take the time to drop me an email with what you see as the biggest issues I should tackle first.  Our first meeting is scheduled for Monday, 10/15.  My email address is:

presidentofbcsa@gmail.com

My phone number is 561-789-1710

Please feel free to send me any and all suggestions. 

Rob Cheslow