Longtime kickball umpire loves the game and the children who play it

For more than 40 years, Rachel Mitchum has been a kickball umpire in the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization, adding fun and sharing lessons in life with the girls who play the sport. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

It’s not every day that someone gets to make a touch of history in what may be the most beloved sport in the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO).

As Rachel Mitchum tells the story, she was a kickball player for Holy Angels School in Indianapolis in the 1960s when she did something that changed the rules of the popular game.

“When I started playing, we played on grass, in a park,” she recalls. “We were able to throw the ball at the runner and get them out that way. If the runner fell, you fell on grass and you weren’t getting scraped up and all that stuff. Then they started playing on parking lots, and they forgot to change the rules on throwing the ball at a runner.

“We did what we normally did. We threw the ball at their feet, but this time they fell on cement. There were

skinned-up people. They changed the rules the next day. After that, you had to tag the runner out. I changed the rules.”

While Mitchum claims that small touch of history, the now-76-year-old woman has left a far bigger impact by serving as an umpire for the sport for more than 40 years—and counting.

“She is always willing to do anything for CYO,” says Kerry Lynch, the girls’ athletic director of the organization. “She is kind, really tries to teach the younger grades the rules, and makes sure they are having fun.”

That emphasis on fun is the priority for the once-competitive player who is now a mother of one, a grandmother of five, and a great-grandmother of two.

“I enjoy the kids, and I’m very humorous,” she says with a smile. “The coaches like to see me because I don’t make it as serious as some of the other umpires do. I make it fun. I talk to the girls. I teach them. I let them know I’m there for them. All that good stuff. And it’s always been like that.

“I don’t want issues with anybody. And I try to talk it out if we do have something going on.”

It’s a lesson she learned from her grade school coach, a lesson from a divisive time in American history—the 1960s.

Lessons in life on a diamond

“We had a really good coach. Miss Tinder. Never forget her,” Mitchum says. “She just taught us a lot. There was a lot of stuff going on then, back in the ‘60s. We had some issues with race and that kind of stuff. But she taught us how to get around it. And she made sure we didn’t have to experience things.

“Miss Tinder was a role model for us. We were able to listen and understand. She was caring. It’s made a difference throughout my whole life. I have the same approach—being caring, and wanting to do everything correctly.”

She strives to do “everything correctly” by calling a good, fair game. But her main focus is on caring.

“Let’s say that Suzie is having a rough time,” she says. “I’m not a coach, I’m an umpire, but I’m talking to her. I will stop the game and go up to her and ask, ‘Are you OK?’ Of course, she’ll say, ‘I’m OK.’ But they’re not. I say, ‘Just settle down, baby. Let’s go. Let’s do this.’ And they’re ready to go again.

“Sometimes, it’s just a matter of approaching them, saying a couple of words to them and just get them out of that funk they’re in and get back to where they want to be. That’s the way I approach young people.”

She also has a habit of talking briefly with the losing team after a game.

“I tell them, ‘Great job. The next time I see you, just improve your game. Just keep playing and have fun. The biggest thing is to have fun.’

“I don’t look at anyone like they’re a loser or they just don’t have it. Everybody is a winner to me. I tell them that because kids feel bad about losing. They go home and say, ‘I did a terrible job because we lost.’ No, you didn’t. You just lost. If you as an individual player did the best you could, that’s all you need to do.”

She smiles as she adds, “The kids love me. They see me coming, and they say, ‘Oh, that’s Miss Rachel!’ ”

Coaches appreciate her, too.

“We love her,” says Sarah Mattingly, the coach of a fifth- and sixth-grade team at St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis and the coordinator of the parish’s kickball program. “She knows all the rules, and she’s really good at teaching them to young kids, too. We just enjoy her. She’s very sweet.”

A love for the game and the children who play it

Mitchum’s start as a kickball umpire began in the early 1980s after a conversation with the legendary Bernadette “Bernie” Price, the longtime girls’ athletic director of CYO who died in 2024.

“I had started doing basketball games for CYO, and Bernie approached me and asked, ‘Do you want to do some kickball?’ I said, ‘Why not?’ I was in my early 30s.”

More than 40 years later, the fun is still there for her. So is her love for the game and the children who play it.

“I just love kickball. I’m hoping I can do it for as long as I can. Being 76, it’s going to be a little bit harder for me, especially with the heat. But I stay hydrated. My body is in good shape, thank God. And I’m going to go forward as long as I can.”

She credits her joy for the game—and her joy for life—to her relationship with Christ.

“I’ve kept the purpose,” she says. “I’m always going to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. I keep the Word in my soul. I try not to stress myself. I put things in the Lord’s hands. If he’s going to fix it, he’s going to fix it. He heard me. He knows what’s going on. So, what I do is wait for it. Because he’s going to take care of it. I believe that. I just completely believe that.

“When I listen to Scripture on TV—I do that quite a bit—that soothes my soul. And that makes me go out there and be the person I am. I feel positive when I approach those games. I have a good soul. When people see me coming, they smile.”

Mitchum had the biggest smile earlier this year when the CYO recognized her for her outstanding contributions as an umpire through the years.

“I was so humbled when I got my award. I had achieved so much for CYO. It was nice to know they appreciate me. Sometimes you don’t get noticed when you do something so long and you do something so well. I was grinning from ear to ear. Even now when I think about it sometimes, I just smile. It meant so much to me.”

So does being connected to the CYO.

“They’ve been in my life so long. The Catholic Youth Organization has always been a pillar to me, and I’m proud to be a part of it. It’s a wonderful program for young people. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the number one organization to be a part of. I want it to go on forever.

“I hope I can stay with it as long as I can.” †