Play at the plate

[Jim Krueger]

What if the same play occurred with the catcher in the same position but the ball arrives when the runner 5 feet away or 10 feet or 50 feet away. In all of these situations the catcher was denying access without the ball until the ball arrived. The NFHS rules says the fielder can not deny access to the base without the ball. My question is how can I rule obstruction if no contact occurred before the tag and the runner did not alter his path but just slid like he should.