Lentz Learned from 'Legacy,' Builds Own
June 9, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Umpire Nic Lentz stepped onto the field April 20 at Marlins Park prior to Miami’s game against the Washington Nationals, and he was met by moments he’ll remember the rest of his life.
The game was his first at the Major League Baseball level. And if that wasn’t enough, the Howell native's parents Steve and Tammy were in the crowd – “so not only was it a special moment for me, but also making them proud walking on that field for the first time is something I’ll have for the rest of my life,” Lentz said.
“It was all very humbling. It’s hard to describe what it feels like receiving that call or stepping on that field for the first time,” Lentz wrote recently during a break in his whirlwind tour as a first-year fill-in for MLB umpires who are ill, injured or on vacation. “That being said, from a personal aspect, it took me back to years I have spent in this profession … things I have learned throughout the years both on and off the field.”
By the end of May, Lentz had traveled from Miami, to Cincinnati, then on to Baltimore, Los Angeles, Seattle, Arizona, Houston, Detroit and Toronto.
And the story of his start in officiating has been nearly as well traveled these last few weeks, with the hope his rise through the ranks – including a spring as part of the MHSAA’s Legacy Student Officials Program – might serve as an inspiration to young people considering the opportunities that come with the officiating avocation.
Lentz, 26, has risen from entry level to the largest stage in just under a decade. He began umpiring at the rec levels when he was 12; by the time he was 16, he was done playing and passionate about becoming an umpire.
A homeschooled student in the Howell area, Lentz approached then-Highlanders athletic director Doug Paige to find out how he might be able to continue growing his skills and take them to the next level.
Paige called Dan Jeffery, who currently is in his 22nd year as an officials assigner in the southeastern Lower Peninsula and works with the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Southeastern Conference.
“Nic was 16 years old, and my son (Dan, Jr.) and I were working a game at Hartland, and I said why not come out and watch us work and we’ll talk,” Jeffery Sr. said. “Next thing you know, here’s this tall, skinny young kid waving at us.”
A decade later, Lentz took his post near first base in front of nearly 17,000 fans, the latest step in a career that’s also included stops in 10 leagues at various levels of the minor league and instructional ladder, mostly in the U.S. but also Venezuela, and MLB spring training as well.
Beginning a legacy
That first meeting with the Jefferys turned into a spot in the MHSAA Legacy Program, which pairs high school juniors and seniors interested in officiating with a registered MHSAA official. The veteran mentors the younger official, providing guidance in getting started while the pair works games together at the middle school/junior high and subvarsity levels.
Jeffery Sr. paired Lentz with Kyle Clapper, a former player when Jeffery was part of Howell’s football staff. Lentz also continued attending games worked by Jeffery and his son (Dan Jr. now officiates at the college level), and remains in regular contact with Jeffery Sr. today. He received additional input and guidance from MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl, who is in charge of officials for the association and worked the NCAA Division I College Baseball World Series in 2014.
“(Lentz) came around and watched and showed this unbelievable interest,” Jeffery said. “He just took to it. It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing.”
“From a personal aspect, it was the next stepping-stone for me,” Lentz said of the Legacy Program. “I had been umpiring travel baseball for the past few years now, and I wanted to grow in my skills and take it to the next level. The Legacy Program seemed to be the best option. I always looked at it as the launching pad for where I am today.”
Lentz clearly has a natural talent for his profession. In January 2008, just turned 18 and recently graduated from high school, he attended the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring. After graduation there, he was put on the wait list for the Coastal Plain League, a wood bat league for college players in Virginia and North and South Carolina. He worked in that league three weeks during the summer of 2008 – and then received a call from the Arizona League, a rookie league that serves as the entry level for many minor league baseball players.
With that, Lentz began climbing his ladder as well.
Top rung and top-shelf
Lentz is in his third season in the International League, which is Triple-A – the highest minor league level for players. He’s a crew chief at that level.
He’s also shined during his MLB fill-in opportunities.
“His attention to detail; when you look at him today … his posture and his presence, you just see it,” Jeffery said. “As soon as you look at him, you just see it.
“He knows the rules, he studies really well, and mechanically he’s incredible. He not only studies the rules, but he knows where he’s supposed to be.”
Lentz lives in Holland (as do his parents) and in 2009 joined the crew of instructors for the annual Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp, which focuses on teaching high school officiating mechanics and draws roughly 100 officials to Livonia every February. Jeffery said that two years ago, there were 40 officials younger than 20 years old.
Jeffery calls himself the “old dude” at 68. But Lentz’ presence and current experience certainly resonate with their students.
“Nic is great with the campers and is very well-liked,” said official Bill Parker, the president and founder of the camp who also has worked in minor league baseball. “He will do anything that is asked of him. It has been a great joy watching Nic progress through the minor leagues and into the major leagues.”
“I would and do tell future and current umpires to continue to have a passion for the game. You can’t umpire any game, be it at the amateur or professional level, without that passion,” Lentz said. “So follow that passion, have fun doing it, stay humble and work hard every day. I would say that to be true for any career in life, wherever that passion may be.”
Michigan family, friends and fellow officials are cheering on that passion as they watch Lentz’ travels this summer and anticipate his move to MLB full-time in the future. Jeffery said he sees Lentz working at that highest level for decades to come – but also told his former protégé to make sure to take it all in that first game April 20, “take a deep breath, take a look around and remember where you’re at.”
And Lentz will never take for granted those who have helped him get there.
“There are so many people I have kept in touch with over the years, both before my professional career and throughout it,” Lentz said. “There are so many friendships I have built, and the support of everyone has always meant a great deal to me. And you can’t come close to putting a price tag on that.”
Click to learn more about the MHSAA Legacy Student Officials Program or Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp.
PHOTOS: (Top) Nic Lentz serves as plate umpire during an MLB game last month. (Middle) Lentz enters the field and works at third base during a game at Comerica Park. (Below) Lentz instructs umpires at the Southeast Michigan Umpire Camp. (Photos courtesy of Dan Jeffery, Sr., Bill Parker and the Lentz family.)
Referee Camaraderie: Bloopers, 'Nerding' Out, Lots of Laughs Create Powerful Bond
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
February 13, 2024
KALAMAZOO — When it comes to blooper highlights, four MHSAA hockey officials don’t hesitate to share their miscues.
One of them, Bob Corak, even has his pratfalls set to music on an internet site called Zebras with Pucks.
Laughter is the sound of the day when the four gather every Tuesday after their yoga class at Nisker’s Char-Grill & Slap Shot Hockey Bar in Kalamazoo.
The camaraderie between Corak, Corey Butts, Nick Schrippa and Nat Swanson is evident, but the tone gets more serious once the talk turns to officiating.
“We’ve all played, we’ve all coached to some extent, but officiating is just what speaks to us,” Schrippa said. “That’s our niche.
“Every player on the ice has a fan in the stands. Every player on the ice has support on the bench. We’re the only support we have in the arena. We’re the only ones we can lean on. We’re kind of on an island.”
Most times the friends are part of different four-man crews made up of two referees and two linesmen for South Central High School Hockey League games. But that just gives them more to talk about when they get together on Tuesdays.
“We spend an hour every Tuesday with Bob’s wife (Susan) just kicking the crap out of us and then come to (Nisker’s) to debrief,” Schrippa said. Susan Corak runs Be Well Yoga and Fitness in Kalamazoo.
"We never talk about the workout. Somebody will bust out a phone and we’ll go over a video and we’ll talk about a situation, talk about rule differences,” he continued. “We are nerds to the nth degree, and that’s just how we’re wired.”
Yoga is a good way to keep in shape, the four friends agree.
“I’m a little older than most of the referees I meet,” said Corak, who retired after 35 years with Pfizer in information technology. "It keeps me limber, keeps me in shape to an extent, not a lot of cardio but the strength is there that we get from yoga, especially the core, plus injury prevention.
“If I’m not skating, I’m officiating or I’m working the books for the association (Kalamazoo Ice Hockey Officials Association).”
Corak assists in the scheduling, billing, etc., leading Schrippa to quip: “Remember when Bob said he did information technology? We take full advantage of that. He is, in fact, the glue that holds a lot of our shenanigans together. He really is.”
Referees vs. Linesmen
Butts and Corak prefer wearing the referees’ armbands, while Schrippa and Swanson like working the lines.
“’I’m a smaller guy,” said Butts, who has been officiating for 14 years. “Linesmen typically tend to be 6-foot-5. When you’re smaller than most of the players, it doesn’t work out well.
“I like the freedom to be able to get out of the way. It’s a high traffic area as a linesman.”
When not spending evenings officiating, Butts is the penalty box timekeeper for the ECHL Kalamazoo Wings home games. His day job as a third-party examiner for the state of Michigan means he gives driving tests, and that leads to some interesting conversations.
“I’ve given most of (the players) their driver’s licenses,” he said. “I’ve had a group of players in the middle of a high school hockey game, getting ready to drop the puck at the start of the third period, and they’re trying to schedule a driver’s test for the next day. I’m like, ‘Guys, not now. Talk to me after work.’”
Swanson is the newest of the quartet, moving to the area three years ago from Syracuse, N.Y., where he started officiating at age 11.
He is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force International Guard in Battle Creek flying MQ-9 Reaper Drones.
“I like refereeing better (than being a linesman) because I like managing the game and look at the big picture,” Swanson said. “Sometimes it’s great to be a linesman because they get to communicate with the players, crack jokes and sometimes throw the referee under the bus, ‘Yeah, I agree that was a terrible call. But you’ve got to move on.’”
All four also officiate college and youth hockey, which can lead to a dilemma.
“Those are all different rule books, so we don’t have to know just one set of rules,” Schrippa said. “None of them are what you see on TV.
“While we have a couple hundred people in the building who are yelling at us that we got it wrong because that’s what they saw on ESPN, that’s not how it works. So not only do we have to know the rules, we have to know the differences in the rules.”
With mentorship programs available, some current prep players are also officials for younger leagues.
“They’re learning, we’re teaching them,” Corak said. “We have games with them as officials, then we’ll officiate their games when they play for their schools.”
Swanson added: “I think that makes them better players because they understand the rules, where they can bend rules and where they can’t.”
That is what led Schrippa to officiating.
“(Late referee) Mike Martin was officiating a game and pulled me aside,” he said. “I was 22 years old and he asked if I wanted to become a ref.
“‘(Heck) you’ve broken all the rules,’ he told me. ‘You probably know most of them already. He wasn’t wrong. I talked to a couple friends who had done it, and they talked me into doing it 29 seasons ago. I fell in love with it.”
Fun with bloopers
All four laugh as they regale each other with their funniest and most embarrassing moments.
For Schrippa, it was the college game where he made his refereeing debut.
“I was given the rookie lap,” he said. “I was jazzed. I came out of the gate, turned left, went around the back of the net, got to the blue line, caught a toe pick and Supermanned, slid from the blue line to the top of the next faceoff circle and was soaked because the ice hadn’t set yet.
“I got a standing ovation from the few hundred fans that were in the rink. Both my linesmen were doubled over laughing. It was a very cold first period.”
Something similar happened to Swanson.
“I was taking a hot lap, not seeing they’ve got a carpet out for somebody, hitting the carpet and Supermanning,” he recalled. “Then having a linesman watch you do it as there’s a few hundred people in the stands and give a big washout sign.”
Butts and Swanson had moments that actually delayed the start of a game.
For Butts, “I forgot my pants because I washed them separate and my wife had to bring them to me, and we could not start the game until my pants arrived,” he said, while the others laughed and nodded in agreement.
Swanson actually found himself at the wrong rink one time.
“I’m like, ‘Where is everybody?’” he said. “My phone starts ringing. ‘Hey dude, game starts in 15 minutes. You going to be here? Uh, yes, in 20.’’’
The four agree most officials go through highs and lows, funny times and embarrassing times, and that’s one thing that brings them all together.
“What’s unique about what we do is I could meet another official from Sweden tomorrow who I’ve never met before, and within minutes we’ve already got that relationship,” said Schrippa, who is the Southwest Michigan communications representative for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
“That’s something we all share, we all know that feeling, we all understand that bond and it just takes a second. It’s so neat, it’s powerful.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) MHSAA hockey officials, from left: Nick Schrippa, Bob Corak, Nat Swanson and Corey Butts get together recently for one of their weekly hangouts. (2) Schrippa makes a call. (3) Corak, center, confers with a group of players. (4) Swanson prepares to drop the puck. (5) Butts monitors the game action. (Top photo by Pam Shebest; following photos provided by respective officials.)