[jwwashburn]

This is long and most probably boring. I want to get it right as a coach so, here goes.......

I coach my son's u-10 team. They at a a level above rec and below travel. OBR with some house rules(none that have anything to do with OBS)

Today, we had a runner rounding third tripped up by an oafish 3rd baseman, the runner fell down and was almost thrown out scampering back to third. I looked at both umpires(about 17 to 18 yrs old) Nothing at all.

The next inning, we had the bases loaded and a kid whacked one over the center fielder's head. 1B was standing on first and 2B was standing on second...the BR had to slow WAY down to avoid a crash and touch the bases. he would have had a HR for sure but had to stop at third. I kept my mouth shut.

After the game, the two young men were changing their gear. I said: "Can I ask a question?" The PU said, sure. I said, we had two incidents during the game where our runners were obstructed. I gave a quick rundown. He said, yeah I saw both plays-that is not obstruction...it was not intentional and there was no collision. I said, actually Obstruction is usually not intentional and definitely does not require a collision. I think it would be a good idea for you to look that up in your rules book later on. The other guy gave me the hand up and yelled: This conversation is OVER! Do you understand coach? I said, Yes, I understand. Even though I am completely calm and respectful and you have absolutely no authority to tell me to shut up, I am going to do so. As I walked away, the PU yelled at me from about ten feet away, we got the freaking call right I am confident in my knowledge of the rules!

One of the other coaches is on the board of the league so, he took me over to the UIC who listened and thanked us and said he would take care of it.

I promie that I am not exaggerating or leaving anything out. This is how it happened.

Did I do anything wrong?

I have been umpiring for 15+ years and the coaching thing is new to me.

Awaiting your comments....

Joe