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JEL,
What you have stated is almost word-for-word what our instructor said.
If the coach would specifically ask, "Am I allowed to do this...", then the umpire should state the applicable rule. It would then be up to the coach to decide if he still wanted to make the sub.
If a coach is attempting to make an illegal sub, the instructor suggested asking, "Are you sure you want to do that?". That gave the coach a chance to double-check his sub request, and also helped confirm for the umpire that he was understanding the request correctly.
That way you have both a dose of "preventive" umpiring and give the coach a chance to correct the mistake before it happens, but at the same time you are not denying the other team of their chance to appeal an illegal sub violation.
Sound about right? I thought that I had a good handle on this, until another umpire a few days later told me to flat-out never allow the illegal sub to take place.
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