[MD Longhorn]

Mr. 99,

Can I ask you a simple question? Are you here to learn, or to pump your chest? If the latter, that's fine, we all have the ignore button. If the former, however, you really need to take that chip off your shoulder and listen.

I'm not sure I can say this any clearer to you ... DON'T COACH. EVER.

I would warn you that if you get in the habit of coaching the players it will come up and bite you one day. Problem is ... you got bit in the OP and don't realize it. You need to step back and face the fact that a real umpire, an umpire that wants to be the best that he can be, will not coach the kids. You want to go do 6U ball or low level 8U and help them out, that's one thing. JV and Varsity? Truly, sir - you need to keep out of it. If "the coach doesn't do his job and tell them what to do,", it is absolutely NOT your job.

As to your previous post, you also need to learn that every game is new. If he ticked you off in the varsity game, that's water under the bridge in the JV game. Don't keep grudges or you will never succeed.

Don't ever tell a coach "I haven't called it all game, I can't start now." Might as well just say, "I've sucked at this all game, I need to keep sucking." Seriously - that's what the coach will hear, and that's how your assignor will take it. You might THINK what you just said ... but don't say it. Say, "he's been legal so far, coach. I'm watching it." or something like that. What you typed begs the question - if you KNEW he was illegal and you weren't calling it, why weren't you calling it? Sounds like your partner saw you failing in your job and had to jump in. Man up and call the game.

The comment you claim to have said in the earlier post about this being "only a JV game" says a lot about unprofessionalism to me, and I was not being overly dramatic when I said that I would have serious doubts assigning one of my umpires to another game if I learned that was his attitude.