Local umpire Jarodd Goedel in action during a LLWS game in Williamsport back in August. (Submitted Photo from Goedel)

SHERBURNE — Back in the spring, local umpire Jarodd Goedel of Sherburne, made us all proud as he was selected to officiate in Williamsport for the Little League World Series. He took to the big stage in late August. This experience came after Goedel had been selected previously for the regional level, but this was a first in Williamsport.

Goedel said the process for the selection was still the same for regionals and the World Series.

“You can attend an ID camp held by Little League after Regionals or a World Series,” Goedel said. “It’s another chance to be evaluated. They take those evaluations and experience and make their selections for all Regionals and World Series.”

So, essentially, yes, his prior experience made him stand out as a candidate for the big stage, where Goedel did feel more pressure than usual, he admits umpiring on the high level.

“ Naturally, I felt more pressure because it is the pinnacle of Little League umpiring, but we had been preparing and training since February, so I felt well prepared,” Goedel said. “I tried not to overthink things and let my training kick in.”

Goedel knew his preparation and experience would be key in helping him keep his composure and confidence.

“Also, just knowing that you are on a crew of the best Little League umpires in the world,” Goedel added. “ We hold pre-game conference where we discuss each umpires’ role an assignment for the game. The nice thing about Regionals and World Series is the four umpire crew on the field. You’re assigned to one base and that assignment rotates to every base during the tournament.”

Besides being ready in the moment, Goedel was able to take his experience all in and really enjoy it. Meeting notable players like Todd Frazier to ESPN personality Eduardo Perez to just hanging out with MLB umpires that were there for the MLB classic between the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners at the time. A lot of key moments that Goedel shared.

“There were so many things from Williamsport that were great, like the brotherhood/sisterhood amongst umpires,” Goedel said. “We were from all over the world and from many different backgrounds, but we had a common goal. The pace of play and skill at the World Series is at such a high level.”

“Nothing will match taking the field to umpire and looking up and seeing 15,000 to 20,000 people in attendance and countless people on tv. My crew ha the two only extra inning games at the tournament. Umpiring some international games were amazing as well.”

Goedel hopes that his experience will bring more support to other local umpires.

“Little League has rewritten all of their training material and videos,” Goedel said. “We used those to prep for the tournament and I hope to pass that knowledge onto local umpires that I mentor.”

Officiating is currently in the process of evolving with technology advancing and A.I. becoming more and more involved in the world and in sports. There is already automation involved at the minor league level of professional baseball, about to make its way into the MLB, leaving many people in panic over the future of baseball.

Goedel shared his thoughts about the impact of the game in the present and future.

“I think it’s fine,” Goedel said about the automatic officiating system that is currently in place at the moment. “ It will take some time to get the bugs worked out and get used to. There was some worry back when the replay system came to baseball, but now it’s commonplace. In the end, all umpires/referees do not want their calls to change a game, so the replay system helps with that. It also has shown that the umpires/referees are correct more times than not. We do not rely on replay and it drives to constantly improve.”

Goedel looks to continue to work with Little League, to keep giving back to the community, and work on getting back to Williamsport in the future.

Congratulations, Jarodd.