Roy Lindwall is nearly 80 years old and anyone who has played softball in the Calgary area has probably heard his voice from behind the plate, where he has spent more than half his life. For the last 46 years, Lindwall has been an umpire and other than a short break in his career, he hasn't stopped - his most recent game was Tuesday night. "I like to see both teams come out, play hard, play fair and the better team wins," Lindwall said. At 77 years old, he's never actually played baseball, he admitted. But over the years Lindwall has become well versed - and well read - in the game. "I read the rule book many, many, many times," he said. "I go through the rule book once a year because the rules change. Last year...there were 10 or 12 new rules." On top of the love for seeing a game well played, Lindwall said he enjoys the interactions with players, especially new ones who could use a confidence boost. "The other day I had a little girl and she was so scared. She didn't know where to stand - I don't think she knew which end of the bat to use,"Lindwall recalled. "I said, 'Are you a little nervous?' she said, 'Yes,' and I said, "Me too - we'll do fine. Now the pitcher's going to pitch a ball to you and if you think you can hit it, hit.'" After two strikeouts, the 11-year-old managed to hit the ball and made it to second base. "She was bouncing up and down, jumping off the base," he said. "Her dad talked to me after... 'What did you say to her? She's all excited.'" "I love to see people that haven't played the game and they don't know how to play but they want to play. I have no problem with giving them a couple of pointers." Corey O'How, president of Cochrane Minor Baseball (CMB), said he met Lindwall a few weeks ago at a game where the scheduled umpire wasn't able to make it. "Roy was in the stands and volunteered to ump our game and he came out there and he got out there and did a great job," O'How said. "It was nice to see a guy like that come out and help out and get involved." "He's one of those guys who's just willing to step up and help out and really you could tell he enjoys the game and he jumped in with both feet and seemed like he'd been doing it for a long time."
