Had two minor issues come up over the weekend during a tournament here in NorCal.
1. During the equipment check prior to the game, one of the umpires was commenting that the screws on the face mask did not have a gel coating??? That we should double check with the retailer and or Manufacturer. He was saying something to the effect that some dealers will send sub standard screws??? These were brand new helmets and face masks with new packaging from what I presume is a reputable dealer from SoCal. I've been buying from them for years. I don't get what he was saying about the screws. Does anyone have any insight on this???
2. Time Limit Rule- As we all know, Tournaments throughout the state have different time limit rules. Sometime in any given tournament, additional rules regarding time will be mentioned. My question to all of you is this, the umpire is ultimately responsible for keeping time, but do they have an obligation to mention to both coaches when time is about to expire? I would think a coach should be ultimately responsible and aware of time by asking the umpire himself about it.
3.Time Limit Scenario- Game is about to end, top of the 5th, Team A is losing by 2 runs. Game is chugging along and then Umpire calls game because of established time limit. Team A Coach is upset because he's saying they should at least allow the top half of the inning to finish because umpire failed to notify both teams that game time will be expiring soon. Also mentioned this was not a "Drop Dead" tournament. Who's right?? How are ASA umpires trained to handle these tournaments that have all these different time limit rules?? In this particular scenario, let's say that all pool play and single elimination games will be 85 minutes. That's it, no other additional information provided other than full ASA rules.