its a case of a kid trying to take the game into his own hands and thinking he knows better than his own coach. ... this was not "an honest mistake" .... The kid was taking a huge lead .... he had the nerve to run first pitch with no sign on the best catcher in our division.
Coach,
At a school that had enough players on the roster, the inexcusable act of that snot-nosed freshman (on a varsity team, unbelievable) would have landed him so far into the dog house that he'd still be looking for the way out, even on a team with a "soft" coach.
The way I see it, you have a specific problem: How do you discipline inexcusable, unpardonable behavior when you have so few players you can't afford to alienate the wrong-doer?