It is often difficult NOT to get excited when you know it's wrong. Mine happened in a 10U all star game. My runner ran behind the short stop (3-4 steps behind) who was playing in, a hit ball deflected off the shorts stop glove and hit my runner on the foot as she jumped to try and avoid the ball. the ball when out to the outfield as 3B was playing up also. The umpire called my runner out.

Well I started off with being nice.

Me: Just to make sure, what rule set are we playing under?
Umpire: ASA (I had to ask since he had a blank hat on)
Me: Are there any tournament rules about interference that weren't in this coaches handout?
Umpire: No
Me: Ok so how do you have my runner out?
Umpire: The ball hit her
Me: After it passed the short stop, did another fielder have a chance to get an out?
Umpire: NO
Me: Since this was a deflected ball do you feel my runner intentionally contacted that ball?
Umpire: NO
Me: Then how can she be out???
Umpire: Come on man anytime the ball hits a runner she's out.
Me: Sir that's not a correct statement
Umpire: Yes it is that's simple rules

At this point I took a deep breath and remembered there was a no protest rule at this tourney umpires had the final say on the field.
Me: Well sir this is your diamond and you have the final say, but PLEASE look that up when we get off the field cause your interpretation is wrong.

He had a few more words, I said the above when we were close to each other and only loud enough for us to hear it.

Later that day he came up and apologized to me, I told him it's ok it's just a learning experience.

Of course this is the same tourney that I yelled at my own fans for getting on an umpire. They were all over him, I said "HEY" and explained the rule and that the umpire was right, I also added that it's my job to talk to the umpire about his/her calls it's theirs to support their kids. After I said that I was a little nervous because I wasn't very nice when I said it....after the game one of the larger dads came up to me and said "Well you sure shut us up. I'm glad you did cause you are right we should be positive for our kids and you should argue with the umpires" Talk about breathing a sigh of relief when he said that!!

I'm 100% sure he was asking just to check and see if I knew. It was a not-so-subtle attempt at trying to show us he was better than us.

I wasn't the coach this past year. And putting unsafe in quotation marks implies that maybe it wasn't. It was 100%, positively unsafe -- the tournament cared more about "getting games in."

This past year, I should've simply pulled my kid. Next year, I'll pull my team. And the place where this tournament happened -- I guarantee that I will not be taking my team there.

Rich, I coached my son through his entire amateur baseball life and umpired during the last 5 years of that time. The hardest thing I found was keeping quiet when the parents and crowd were clamoring for me to confront the umpires. Most discussions I had were quiet, one on one discussions asking about rule interps. I found it easier to just be a bench coach, and not deal with the field action too much. I also handed out a lot of bottles of water...LOL.

Before I became an umpire, in an ASA Tournament, there was significant lightning around the park, but the umpires would not suspend play.

I went to PU and said that if he didn't suspend play that I would pull my team off the field, even if it meant a forfeit. He still wouldn't yield.

I pulled the team. The UIC came over and ruled that we would not have to take the forfeit.

I've umpired in tournaments where it was made clear to the umpires that decisions regarding suspending play due to weather were reserved solely for the TD. They did not want each field to decide independently, but the tournament as a whole.

Fortunately, when this has been in the tournament rules, the TD has been very safety-conscious, so it never became an issue where I thought play should be suspended but the TD had not reached a decision yet (and it did provide a deflection for whiney coaches).

But, what is the thought here on such a tournament rule? Would you "violate" the rule if the TD was too slow to decide (i.e. in your judgment, the conditions were unsafe)?

In the case of lightning or thunder, I've never had an issue where I thought it needed to be stopped but the TD didn't stop it. I have, however, had an issue where rain made MY field unplayable, but hadn't made other fields unplayable. I stopped my game, had the TD called over to address it. He ended up moving that game to another field while the field crew addressed my field. The skies cleared and the rest of the games on my field were played just fine.

Don't know if that completely answers your question. I suspect that if the TD had refused to do something, I would have stopped play and let him take it up with my UIC.

I would never allow a TD to make that decision; he/she often has different thoughts and priorities. If there is an on-site UIC, I agree that he should be making the over-all decision, but not a TD.

I use the general rule in my organization, if there isn't a site UIC, allow game/site/league management to take you off a field you consider still safe, but do NOT allow them to require you to stay and continue if you feel it is unsafe.

Most of the tournaments I do are in complexes that have multiple fields. I can see having one person make the decision to stop play. The last thing you want is to have the umpire stop play on one field while play is still going on the other fields, (absent MD's specific situation).

I did have a situation earlier this year that I, as the umpire, had to take a stand.
Lightning and storm activity was observed in the distance, I asked the site supervisor if he had seen it, he said he had and was "watching" it. The storm and activity started moving much closer until there was a lightning strike within a few miles of the complex, in my judgement. I told the site supervisor that I strongly recommended getting the fields cleared, he said he was trying to reach the TD, who was at another complex in town. When the next strike hit, I told him that the fields need to be cleared now and he agreed.

Personally, I think we were fortunate there was no one struck.

Depends on the reason. At multifield complexes, it is not unusual for fields to deteriorate to different levels at a different rate. If there is no reason to stop a game on a particular field, it shouldn't be and certainly not because another field went under earlier.

Wouldn't have waited, if it is time to go, waiting on a phone call is not appropriate. If the TD wants to continue the game, s/he could borrow my indicator and brush.