About
In 2004 the Hershey Umpire Assn. was formed to help provide umpires for Hershey Baseball. Because of the lack of umpires, especially trained umpires, Craig Grimes (President) and Wayne Jewell (Assignor and trainer) at the time joined together to help provide Hershey with trained umpires for both their Little League and teenier 13yr & 14yr leagues. Though being started in Hershey the association has grown into the surrounding areas, of Palmyra, Lower Dauphin and West Hanover, and has now officially changed it’s name to The Hershey Area Umpire Association (HAUA). In addition to providing umpires for these local area leagues, HAUA serves many of the local travel tournaments such as Future Stars, ECTB, Perfect Game and the Firecracker college showcase.
The assignor and trainer, Wayne Jewell, placed the emphases on knowing the rules and teaching the proper mechanics of umpiring. Many years ago he was fortunate to have Charlie Sherman as my mentor and as a member of the Cumberland Valley Umpire Assn. had the pleasure of working around Bill Stains who made a great impression on him as an umpire. Having attended the Jim Evans Umpire Academy, “Florida Classic”, it was his goal to help new umpires become better umpires, just like Charlie and Bill helped him. One of our umpires, Brian de Brauwere, started umpiring Little League here in Hershey, became a professional umpire in the minor leagues and is now an instructor with the United Collegiate Umpires helping train the next generation of umpires.. Of the many new umpires Wayne had the pleasure of helping, over thirty-four years, it was amazing to see how fast Brian matured as an umpire and what he has accomplished in such a short time.
It is the commitment of the Hershey Area Umpire Association to provide trained umpires for our surrounding communities and helping in the betterment of professional umpiring.
