Update: The young rookie umpire worked with me again tonight. 12U this time, she was a little nervous. Luckily we had good teams, so the plate work was easy. Solid plate game, and a hammer signal so crisp and by the book that I wish that I could emulate it.
She booted a couple, as we all do in our first years. A semi-close play at first was missed....in favor of the team that desperately needed the help.
No one said a word. She also forgot that a caught ball (and subsequent live-ball appeal on the runner) is the same as a force out, not a tag play. R1 on 3B, line drive to F1, and quick throw to F5 at 3B.
Mechanically, she made a great call: good timing, good positioning at almost 90 to the runner (bonus for having the awareness to come inside to the baseline on this play!), a point (double bonus!!), and a loud-enough verbal "No tag - Safe!". Buuuuuuuuutttttt......the runner was definitely out. Even Blind Grandma in the stands could have made the call. We could have gotten that right even with a one-man crew.
I wasn't going to bail her out, but Rookie called me over as soon as she finished the call and asked a great question: "Dad, that's an appeal, right? I think I missed it."
I said, "Yup. Do you know how to fix it?"
She said "Point at the runner and give an out signal?"
I think with a few more years under her belt, she's gonna do just fine.
Edit to add: her eyes were NOT the size of teacups this time.