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Originally Posted by David Emerling
Confession time: When coaching, we used to teach our pitchers, when covering home on a passed ball with a runner on 3rd, to position themselves so that their foot (not their body) was blocking the runner's access to the plate while waiting for the catcher to retrieve the ball. Even though it was clearly obstruction we figured it this way:
(snip for brevity)
NOTE: Please spare me the inevitable sanctimonious "shame on you" posts that are sure to follow. "You're teaching your players to cheat!" Blah, blah, blah. It was competitive softball. Everybody knows the rules. We were willing to accept the risk of an obstruction call on the chance of getting an out. That's why there are umpires. They do their job and coaches do their job. If the umpire calls obstruction, then we have to live with it. We accept that without complaint. This was a rare play and I don't ever recall actually gaining any of the advantages described in this post. Usually the runner was very safe or very out. I do recall one time, however, after a runner had scored in this fashion, the plate umpire politely told our pitcher, in a very matter-of-fact way, "You have to get of the way next time," as if she unknowingly was in the runner's way - not realizing that she was doing it on purpose.
As you can probably tell, I never had any difficulty adjusting to wearing either "hat." 
David Emerling
Memphis, TN
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Cheat? Yeah, right. My concern is that you were willing to place a young lady's well being in jeopardy for a "well, just maybe" situation. Did you ever try thinking there was an idiot coach in the other dugout, too? You know, the guy/gal that is as equally, if not more agressive with their players. The type that is going to tell the player to attain a base at all cost and if you hurt the opponent, oh well, it's competitive softball!
As an aggressive player, if a defender had the nerve to try and block a base with their foot/leg, the target of my slide was no longer the base, but the player. I've sent a few players off the field in my younger days and I'm not talking about under their own power.
Was it stupid? Hell, yeah, but it was competitive softball. Did I do it as I grew older and wiser? Hell, no. The difference is that I did this as a young adult (and that may be questionable in itself
). You are teaching children who will not know the ramification of listening to a heartless coach until they are in the ambulance.
Yeah, shame on you and any other disingenuous moron masquerading as a coach.