Westerville native Mackenzie Hall making strong impression as a softball umpire

Fourteen years ago, Mackenzie Hall wanted to play soccer, not softball, in her hometown of Glendale, West Virginia. That and watch her favorite Nickelodeon cartoons, "Dora the Explorer," and "SpongeBob Squarepants."

“My parents forced me onto the field, because I didn’t want to play,” Hall said.

Now, at 19 years old, Hall is helping grow softball by serving as a role model to younger players in Ohio and West Virginia as a certified USA Softball umpire.

Hall, who was born in Westerville and had a 14-year softball career as a pitcher, outfielder and first baseman, began umpiring at age 16, serving as a coach-pitch and Little League official for third through sixth graders in Wheeling, West Virginia.

“I really enjoyed it,” Hall said. “I liked watching the little girls and teaching them how to hit and help them field and make the plays.”

Hall admitted she struggled to gain respect from parents and peers due to her gender and age.

“It was very difficult trying to prove myself,” Hall said. “Parents and coaches immediately thought that I had no clue what was going on just because I was the young, female umpire. I had to be on it on every single call and make sure I had the right call because they would be on me if I wasn’t.”

Facing scrutiny from fans and other coaches, Hall said she leaned on her father, Russ Hall, who has served as a certified Ohio High School Athletic Association, West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission and USA Softball umpire for eight years and umpired alongside his daughter for close to 30 games.

“He would watch me on the field when I had games. He would watch what I did [with] my mechanics,” Mackenzie Hall said. “(It was) different things that other people, other than umpires, wouldn’t notice. And off the field, we would just talk game with each other like we have before. He would ask me about plays and what the ruling would be, and then I would do the same to him.”

She continued to ascend, receiving certification from the OHSAA, WVSSAC and USA Softball in the past three years – giving her the ability to umpire high school games and tournaments in Ohio and West Virginia, along with all USA Softball-sanctioned tournaments.

This enabled her to officiate a recent FastPitchShowdowns.com North American All-Sanctioned World Series at Columbus’ Lou Berliner Sports Park, an event in which she had competed – and captured a championship – five years ago.

Officiating alongside her father for four games Friday and Saturday, Hall established “a really good rapport” with the participants, according to tournament umpire-in-chief Scott Rosenberg. She was scheduled to umpire the championship game, but it was rained out.

Mackenzie Hall recalled one particular interaction in the tournament that demonstrated the connection she established.

“I was standing with my two umpires on the field, which were both male, and one of the girls playing came up to me and asked about a jewelry rule,” she said. “Instead of coming up to them, she came up to me and pulled me aside. I think she felt more comfortable and knew that I would have an answer.”

Hall said she recognizes the impact she makes on younger players, especially given how rarely they see someone like her.

“Sometimes I don’t [notice it], but then I take a step back and think a lot of these girls haven’t seen a female umpire before,” Mackenzie Hall said. “Seeing me on the field definitely brings them a smile, and if nothing else, makes them think that they can do what they want.”

With this realization in mind, Hall has looked to  introduce other young women to umpiring.

To achieve this, she plans to recruit young female umpires through social media and spark conversations regarding the future of the industry at Ohio Valley Girls Softball Umpire Board meetings, where she has served as a board member alongside her father since 2020.

USA Softball of Ohio State commissioner Warren Jones, who has spent more than 50 years around the sport and is a member of the National Softball Hall of Fame, said having Hall and other female umpires assume leadership rolesstrengthens the recruitment and retention of younger softball players.

“We need to push our ladies up here and say, ‘Hey, if you want to umpire, we’re going to give you the training and put you in the right position so that you can be a leader in your sport,’ ” Jones said.

For Hall, her quick ascension from the girl who rejected softball to the young adult who helps grow the game is a surprise.

“I never thought, starting three years ago doing little coach-pitch games, that I would have any say on what happens with umpiring around our area and people joining our umpiring group,” Hall said. “Getting the chance to talk to other people about, ‘Hey, this is a good thing, and it’s growing. We can get you in here, and we can help you out, and maybe you can enjoy it just as much as we do.’ I never thought that I would get a chance to speak out.”

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Softball: Westerville's Mackenzie Hall making impression as umpire