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23-year-old umpire gets 'dream' call to Little League World Series after a decade of volunteering

theblaze.com · 11d · first reportShare

A 23-year-old who has been volunteering as a Little League umpire for a decade is getting rewarded with a chance to officiate the league's World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. James Farque of Summerville, South Carolina, said he umpired his first game at age 13 after realizing he was not equipped to advance very far as a player in the sport. 'I pride myself on volunteering and giving back to the community.' "I realized I would not excel at the high school level, so I still wanted to stay connected to the game, so I started umpiring," Farque said. "Umpired my first game [at age 13] and haven't stopped since." He told WCIV-TV that he's proud to be called up to the Little League Baseball World Series. "This is every Little League umpire's dream," he added. "It's a tremendous honor; there's only 20 people each year that are chosen." His performance at four games of the contest will determine whether he gets assigned further spots. He said he is going to try not to be intimidated by