Helpful Little League Umpire or Not?

Question
Gareth,

I am a first year UIC for a Little League in Arizona. I have played Div 1 College Baseball and have coached LL for 5 years (T-Ball to 9-10 yr old Minors).  I have only umpired a handful of games since my playing days ended 20 years ago. However I feel as though I have a pretty good grasp of the LL rule book and carry myself pretty well on the field.

Tonight I umpired the bases of a LL Minors game (9-10's). I felt very good about the game I called, however, after making a few tough calls against one particular team, I became the bad guy.
It started before the game when I had to let the Home Team抯 assistant coach know that LL rules state that he can't warm his pitcher, much less on the mound of the playing field. He wanted to argue but I gently explained that it's not allowed, and apologized for having to enforce the rule.

Then during the game I had to warn his base runner that he was leaving early, and reminded him to not leave until the ball crosses the plate. Again, basic stuff that I thought wouldn't cause much controversy. Well these calls must have been building up, because I soon started to hear the jeers from the home team dugout. The manager is actually a guy I really like and respect and would call a friend. So at first I thought he was just playing around when he told I missed a call at first. It soon became apparent that he was truly upset and made a comment about me not calling the game fair.

None of this bothered me much. The thing that troubles me the most wasn't making these calls, because I was sure of myself on those. Instead it was a comment he made in between innings. After his pitcher took his warm up pitches on inning and his catcher threw down to second base, I noticed that his shortstop was waiting for the throw behind the bag?and not straddling the bag in front of the base.

So I took the time to explain to the young boy that by moving up a foot, he would be able to make an easier tag by just dropping his glove, or swiping directly below. Also in my mind, instead of having the throw beat the runner, but having to call the runner safe for not getting the tag down because of his position behind the base (on shortstop side of second base) I thought it would be a good thing to teach the boy where he should stand.  I didn't think much about the exchange with his SS until the coach questioned me about what I was telling him after the inning was over.

When I explained what was said, he told me, 揝top coaching and just ump the game.?I was a little shocked, and still am.

So匜inally my question.... Is there some unwritten rule (or written for that matter) that says that a LL umpire shouldn't give this type of instruction during a game? My instinct is to always help a boy learn the game, but should I practice keeping my mouth shut when umpping? Or was this coach making a stink about nothing? Was he just frustrated that his team was down 2-1 and just trying to get in my head?

As the League's Umpire In Chief, I have no one to complain to about this coach's actions except the VP of Operations or the President. I really don抰 want to file a complaint, but I know I would not take well to hearing that he抯 talking this way to one of my 14 year old umpires when I抦 not around.

I don't know how to handle this since I was the one he was barking at卶uestioning judgment calls, trying to get me to lose my cool, making inappropriate yells from the dugout, etc?  
Can you help me with a few suggestions on how to handle this situation?

Thanks

Answer
Hi Pete:

I'm sorry to hear that there's a coach out there ruining the game for you, and also for the kids he's coaching.

This may differ from district to district, but in my city, umpires are encouraged (especially adult umpires) to help the kids out if they see something like a lead-off or a possible obstruction call.  I would encourage you to continue helping the kids out - this is their game after all, and we're just a bunch of boring adults ruining it for them :).

I wouldn't file a complaint either at this point, it's entirely possible the coach was frustrated at the progress of the game.  Maybe it had nothing to do with the game, and he was just having a bad day at work or at home.  However, if it happens again with this coach, and any other umpire, I would notify the President of the league and the Vice-President (or Director) of the division.

If you're concerned about your youth umpires around this coach, try and wander down to the park the next time he's coaching, and just watch the game.  If he starts acting up, take notes, and if you need to, step in to protect the youth umpires.  (Most leagues have a rule allowing an executive to remove coaches from the dugout for inappropriate behavior.)

It sounds like you handled everything exactly the way you were supposed to, so I hope you feel good about the game you did; Little League could use more volunteers like you!  Enjoy the rest of your season, I hope this answers your question.

Cheers,
Gareth