Also, we say catch/no catch, safe/out, fair/foul are all judgement calls, but the coach calmly pointed out the ball was moving and not secured. Would you consider that a valid appeal or does whether it was “securely” held fall under the realm of judgment and I need to stick to my call, even if I feel I incorrectly judged it?
It depends on what you could actually see. If you could fully see the ball enter the glove and be held securely, that's a firm "judgement" based on having a clear view of the play.
If you're across the diamond looking at a play at 1B, the 1B's foot could be several inches off the bag, but you have a bad angle to see that. Similarly, if you can only see the ball hitting the glove, but your positioning results in the the glove obscuring your view of the ball, your partner(s) might have a better perspective on that part of the call.
However, if it's a 8U game as you describe, you're probably working solo, so there is no objective perspective other than your own. What you call is final unless you realize that you applied a rule incorrectly.
And that’s another thing I’m still working on after 6 years. Sometimes I offer up too much. By telling the coach I saw what he saw and understand why he’s asking about it, I feel like I probably did open myself up to an appeal.
At that point, he could say I wasn’t applying “securely”, thus misapplying the rule right?
An "appeal" or "protest" to who? It's an 8U game. Even if you're working with other umpires, nobody can "overrule" you. As a coach considering a transition to umpire, my suggestion is the less you say in this situation, the better. If you're by yourself or firmly convinced you saw everything about the play, it's "coach, I have a catch at first". If you have a partner, and are unsure, you could say "I understand your question", and then go get the partner's perspective. While I've observed a tendency of umpires to give some wiggle room to younger age groups, I'd never admit it to anyone, especially a coach during a game.
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