In most organizations this comes under the “Risk Management” heading. Besides comments regarding the “stranger danger” program, I would also like to mention subjects like supervision, personal responsibility and buddy concepts.
Risk management: It is truly a sad state of affairs in our world today when we must protect our youth from a small but dangerous number of adults whose focus is to prey on them. We, as coaches, parents and soccer administrators must be forever vigilant and implement policies that keep our players anonymous to the the outside world, and under our constant supervision. Communities now have programs where they publicize the presence of known offenders, but for every known offender, there are likely dozens out there who are not known to us. When I say “offender” I do not only mean sex offenders, but those with a violent and/or criminal history. Most soccer organizations have some form of Risk Management program where coaches and administrators are screened for prior criminal history. The organization assesses any documented criminal or violent history and determines whether or not that individual is a threat to our youth. A conviction for shoplifting, for example, might not disqualify someone from coaching, but those decisions are up to the governing body of the soccer organization. It is not the purpose here to go into the details of Risk Management except to make a few references and emphasize the importance of such programs.
My primary recommendation here for parents of soccer players is the following:
Be certain that the soccer organization you plan to place your child in has a Risk Management program (one that requires coaches and administrators to go through some form of screening for prior criminal history).
US Soccer has a nice handout describing their Kid Safe Program: KID SAFE (save file to your PC, then open from there).
Player Supervision: A coach should never leave practice or games until all players have been picked up by their parents, or have a ride with another family. I have personally seen many cases where young players are left sitting in the dark at a practice field after everyone (including the coach) is gone. On occasion, I have taken a players home with me and left a message with late arriving parents to pick them up at my house. Parents need to be advised they are responsible for either picking up their player or making arrangements with another family to take them home.
At games or tournaments, players should use the buddy concept when leaving the immediate team area going for food, potty-breaks, etc. Players should never wander off alone, especially when travelling to distant locations. My teams have attended some very large tournaments at huge multi-field complexes in So. California and Arizona where players were often a great distance from bathrooms, parking and food concessions. We always used the “buddy system” and it seems to work well. This also applies when staying at local hotels, etc. Regarding staying at hotels out of town, we always set a curfew and limits on players regarding where they were permitted to go and when to be in their rooms. If no limits are set, some players (especially teenagers) will take liberties that could put them at risk in an unfamiliar environment.
Players names and personal information should not be made overly visible to strangers. Careful with names on backpacks, balls, warm-ups, etc.
Transporting and housing Players: I would like to say that I do not believe it is wise for coaches to transport players (alone) to and from practices and games. A coach can put themselves in a compromising situation when doing so. It has happened that players have accused coaches of improper behavior when it did not occur. A coach can leave themselves open for scrutiny with this sort of thing if they routinely transport players by themselves. I suggest coaches always have others in the vehicle when transporting players. When travelling, I do not recommend that coaches sharing a room with players unless a spouse or another adult shares the room. In short, coaches need to avoid situations where they are alone for any period of time with a player. This is for the coaches protection.
Parents should be vigilant regarding their player. If a parent observes any inappropriate behavior of coaches or anyone else toward their player or any player, they need to bring it to the attention of an administrator or someone who is responsible for the coaching staff. Minor issues can be addressed to the coaches themselves, however, anything of a more serious nature needs to be taken to the next level of supervision.
Physical Contact Between Coaches and Players: This is obviously an area where caution and good judgement should be exercised. In this day and age, it is sad to say that even a hug for a job well done can be missinterpreted as something other than what it is. Knowing your players and their families will help a coach establish boundaries for physical contact. One situation where contact is necessary is when a coach assesses an injury. As a physical therapist who must treat both male and female patients, and in some cases in close proximity to private areas, I am well aware of the problems this can cause. I would suggest the following guidelines be used:
- Never take the player to an area out of sight to do a physical assessment.
- Have a parent or another adult chaperon the assessment.
- Ask the player first if it is OK for you to touch and/or inspect the area in question.
- “Drape” or shield personal areas close to the area inspected.
- Let the player use their own finger to point out the injured area.
- Let the parent know that you had to assess the injured area and what you found.
Responsibility for the welfare of our players lies with all members of the soccer community. Parents, coaches, administrators, and referees all share in the task of keeping players safe.
