Court House Resident John Rapp Honored by Umpires

Strong organization is essential for anything, but especially for volunteer groups such as recreational sports. Everyone is beyond busy these days with work, family, hobbies and the distractions of technology toys.
Bringing people together to be at the same place at the same time, weather and facility availability permitting, can be quite a challenge. Liability insurance and safety are also more prevalent for someone in a position of leadership in recreational activities. The volunteer elected or appointed to handle all of this also has a life of his or her own which must be balanced with the commitment to the group.
Recreation softball requires considerable commitment from the team manager and, of course, the league director. There are many hurdles to overcome, let alone a plethora of personalities and various levels of competitiveness from the participants.
Court House resident John Rapp has served as director of the Federal Aviation Administration co-ed softball league for 10 years.
Rapp, 54, is an integration and test manager at FAA. He works for Lockheed Martin and manages an FAA program that controls air traffic over the oceans.
“We provide an HW and SW system that allows for the air traffic control of ocean flights,” said Rapp. “I manage the engineering and testing of that system.”
The lifelong sports fan graduated from Williamstown High School before earning his bachelor’s degree in business from Rutgers University. He’s earned corporate recognition for his contributions to the success of the FAA program he oversees.
Rapp’s social contributions to FAA’s success may not be as tangible as his engineering management triumphs, but his efforts have played a major impact on the morale at the Pomona-based work site. There’s a small dirt and grass field there with a makeshift backstop that is often enveloped by unkempt grass. There are no benches for the team, only grandstands that sit back off of the diamond, under some welcoming trees.
Rapp’s efforts and coordination skills have helped transform this not-quite field of dreams environment into a suitable host for daily 5:30 p.m. softball games between co-workers from April and August.
For his efforts, the umpire organization that works the FAA league games has recognized Rapp as its league director of the year. The Amateur Softball Association or ASA umpires who serve leagues in Cape May and Atlantic counties recognized Rapp last Sunday at the group’s year-end luncheon.
“John does an excellent job of keeping everything straight in the FAA league,” said ASA Vice President Mike Jones of Upper Township. “He makes things easy for the umpires by communicating any changes well in advance and making sure the teams are aware of the rules changes and the organizational things.”
Rapp understands the role of umpires because he’s officiated football, softball, baseball, soccer, track and field. He knows what the officials experience and most importantly, he knows the rules as well as anyone.
“I played in leagues and was always aware of the rules so the umpires suggested that since I knew the rules I should consider being an official,” said Rapp.
As a player, Rapp’s impressive organizational skills have not eclipsed his success as an athlete. He’s proud that his teams have captured 14 championships in 31 years of competition.
Rapp has two adult children. Adam, 26, is also employed at FAA, while Rebecca, 24, is completing college while managing a convenience store.
His advice for someone starting out running a league was as easy going as the man’s personality. “Be patient and don’t sweat the small stuff,” he said. “That stuff takes care of itself.”
Rapp, who follows the Eagles and Phillies as his favorite professional teams, has worked diligently to manage the league’s schedule, particularly the playoffs.
“Scheduling playoffs to avoid forfeits is an important part of my job,” he said. “I have a problem with games being decided by forfeit. I want to see every team get an equal chance. I know everyone is busy and sometimes work obligations can get in the way. You need cooperation to manage those potential conflicts.”
Rapp said the aspect he has most enjoyed about being league director is the relationships he has forged over the years.
“I’ve had the ability to get to know so many of the players in the league,” said Rapp, who intends to step down this year. “I take a lot of pride in seeing a successful season completed each year. It takes some time but when it all goes well it’s worth it.”
Reach Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net