Do we really care what the rules are

[GarthB]

I have no problem enforcing local rules, provided that they are indeed "rules". That is, that they are rules of the local league, and not the rules of one of the coaches at the game.

More often than not when a coach tells me about local rules, they really aren't rules. This causes problems when one coach's rules conflict with the others.

As the local PONY UIC, I have access to the local rules as well as the national PONY rules. We play by those as well as those OBR rules not affected by the PONY rules. We do not play by any "coach's rules."

In short, yes, we should care about the rules and call the rules. It's okay if they are PONY, LL, Babe Ruth, MABL, MSBL, NABF, FED, NCAA, OBR, whatever. It's even okay if they are local adaptations. Just be sure that they are indeed RULES and not a coach's myth.

We should not call coach's myths for any reason, (Sorry, Peter)even if we want to satisfy the customer. The coach is not the customer. The league is. Satisfy the league and call their rules.