Pre-Game Talk
You may wish to have a pre-game talk with your Team Managers/Head Coaches before the game. This should be done after you have made sure that they have taken their infield and will be ready to go on time, given that your pre-game will take a few minutes. Call the Head Coaches together (plate umpire with back to stands and Field umpire facing stands)

The following would be a regular type plate conference appropriate for Oak Hill - feel free to modify this as needed:

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The Plate Umpire speaks, "Good afternoon coaches, I am X X", (shank hands) [Field umpire introduces himself also]. Who is the home team? or Do we flip a coin? (Flip if necessary) . Today we will be playing a X inning game or no inning begins after X hour/minutes. There will be a X run limit per inning; the Open Inning rule will/will not apply; the Ten Run Rule (or 15/20 Run Rule) will apply (and take precedence over the Open Inning Rule). The Mandatory Slide Rule at the plate is in effect. Malicious Contact and Unsportsmanlike Behavior will not be tolerated anywhere in this complex. Suicide Squeeze plays or outright stealing of home are not allowed. Players may not wear any form of jewelry, including the wrist bands We operate under the Zero Tolerance Policy: where only one Head Coach at a time may discuss a rules question with the umpires. The Head Coach must wait till the play is over, call and get timeout before coming out onto the field, talk in a civil manner to the umpire who made the call. I don't want to hear from assistant coaches, players or fans, and there will be no arguing or commenting about judgement calls (ball, strike, fair, foul, out, safe). I will need baseballs before we start; home team, who is your scorekeeper? Are there any questions?

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It is at this point that they may ask you to explain some of the things you have mentioned - be prepared to! Here they are (these are the full version for you -give the coaches the abbreviated verison):

Mandatory Slide Rule - if a defender at or near the plate "has" the ball, the offensive player must slide, go around, or give himself up. The key here is that the runner can not run into, run over or jump over the defender. He can go around and hope he can reach in, without being called out for being out of the baseline, he can give himself up, or he can slide appropriately. If he does not slide, jumps over or he hits the defender, the runner will be called safe or out, whatever the play is, and based on the severity of the collision, may be warned or ejected, all based on the umpire's judgement. However, if the collision is considered

Malicious Contact or Unsportsmanlike, which causes the ball to become dislodged and that is the reason he is safe, then he shall be called out automatically and ejected (this will be true at any base). If this occurs, it is a dead ball, all runners stop at the bases they are at (or nearest to).

Suicide Squeeze - there will be no advancement to home without a pause or break. This means, when the runner is leading off at third, he can get out and get his lead, but must stop before he takes off. He can not do a walking lead and then break into a run (this does not apply if the ball gets away from the catcher). This also does not apply if the runner is way off third and he is waiting for the catcher to throw the ball back to the pitcher - and when he does, the runner takes off to home (this might be showing poor sportsmanship, but it is not illegal). So, you need to keep an eye on the runner at third. For a violation, the runner shall be called out and the Head Coach ejected; it is a dead ball violation and all other runners must go back to where they were at the time of the pitch. A safety squeeze or delayed steal is legal Note, that defenders can not block the plate or any base or be in a reasonable base path (which might impede the runner) without the ball, this is obstruction. However, sometimes a defender must move to a position to catch the ball - this is a judgement call and there may even be a collision and it just might be baseball! Watch the defenders, the good ones can disguise blocking the base very cleverly - watch what the first baseman does with a man on first or does the third baseman go down with his leg first to block a slide before he actually catches the ball.............This can be obstruction Don't allow the defenders get to aggressive with their tags or don't let them push the runners off the bag. Likewise, don't let the defenders or the runners do any bumping.