Don’t Turn A Blind Eye
Hold outside users accountable at your facility
By John Engh
Photo: NAYS
“Is there anyone else I can bring this concern to?” asked a parent who reached out to us at National Alliance of Youth Sports (NAYS) after attempts to resolve issues through the local team, the team’s regional conference operator, and local parks and recreation department failed.
The short answer—no one.
“But how can that be?” exclaimed the parent.
On the NAYS website, nays.org, we offer a Report a Coach tool. It helps enforce the NAYS Code of Ethics Pledge for Coaches that our members must follow. When a complaint is received about a NAYS Coach, we share the Coach Accountability and Enforcement Policies with the local NAYS member organization and require that it respond to the complaint within a set timeframe. The organization must notify NAYS headquarters if the member is found in violation of the pledge and, if so, the individual’s membership is revoked.
But that approach is only for the tens of thousands of youth sports coaches who are current members of NAYS. There are an estimated 6-million youth-sports coaches in the United States, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
And what is interesting about this feature (try Googling “report a coach”) is that, more times than not, we receive reports about coaches who are not members. The reports are shared with the local parks and recreation department or school since, typically, the league uses public facilities. We recommend that the public entity investigate further, and we provide links to resources for advice. We also share the complaints with the league and research if there is an affiliation with another national-level organization. No one is required to respond, and they often do not.
Looking For Help
The exchange at the beginning of this article is from a parent whose child is participating in an independent youth football league in Ohio. In the complaint, the parent alleges that a coach is hitting children on the field as discipline, using profanity, benching multiple players for entire games because of his desire to win, tolerating bullying between young athletes, and allowing the assistant coaches to smoke marijuana on the field during practices. The age of the kids on his team? Six and seven years old.
As disturbing as that sounds, what really bothers me is what invariably happens after we tell the parent that, since there is no affiliation with us, our hands are tied. We will forward the complaint to the league and make sure the city or county whose fields are used will also be notified.
“I already contacted the league and have not received a response,” shared the parent. “I also contacted the local park and recreation department, and they told me they have no affiliation with youth sports in the area, which seemed surprising seeing as they play at a local city field. I was hoping to avoid police involvement, but it seems that may be my only choice. I don’t want anyone to get arrested. I simply just want to see positive changes being made for the team.”
Parents who submit these coach complaints are amazed that youth-sports organizations are not required to go through any vetting process. They do not realize this until there are serious concerns that the league is not doing anything to resolve the issues, and parents then go online to see who can help.
Of course, there are two sides to every story. But, in this case, our staff spoke with the league president. He acknowledged all of the behavior except for the marijuana use. He downplayed the hitting and said it was “just pushing a bit and, you know, slaps on the shoulder when the kids need to go harder.” He defended his league’s rule about no minimum playing time, even for 6U teams, because “you stand a chance to lose with rules like that.”
This type of behavior is inexcusable and is not tolerated in any other areas where children are concerned. Schools, childcare providers, after-school programs, and most day camps are all highly regulated with standards and accountability. While our organization has published and updated the National Standards for Youth Sports since releasing the first version in 1987, unless there is oversight and enforcement, a league does not need to follow any standards. How have youth-sports organizations been getting away with this for so long?
Lacking Oversight
In 2020, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more agencies are turning to independently run organizations to use their fields. Obviously, there are many issues with independent youth-sports organizations operating with little or no oversight. However, many cities and counties oversee youth sports very well.
First, there is a stringent application process, with measures in place to make sure the organizations that qualify to receive a facility permit meet certain requirements. It may be documents to prove non-profit status, league insurance, background checks for volunteers, education for volunteers, league bylaws, financial reports, minimum-play requirements, non-discrimination policies, codes of ethics, and more. Leagues sign a detailed agreement about the community’s youth-sports philosophies that outline disciplinary procedures for any violations. Once the league has access to the facilities, the permitting entities regularly evaluate the league with spot checks and site visits. In short, the leagues are held accountable.
Because of limited resources, however, these policies are not always enforced after the permits are issued.
Local politics also can sometimes play a role. Longstanding private youth-sports providers are resistant to any change, so park commissions sometimes back off. We have heard comments from parks and recreation professionals around the country that, although they feel that what is happening on their fields is their responsibility, some are actually advised by their risk managers to not be involved with the operations of the local leagues that use public facilities because of potential liability.
When a youth-serving organization uses public space to develop the community’s children, and public officials are willing to turn a blind eye to verbal abuse, physical abuse, bullying, and drug use in the name of liability, that is negligence.
My advice to a parent is to become an educated customer. Ask the local youth-sports organization about any national affiliations. Be wary if there is no oversight. Become familiar with the National Standards for Youth Sports, which is available as a free resource on our website. Ask the league if it meets the requirements to attain the Better Sports for Kids Quality Program Provider designation—another free initiative offered by NAYS. Ask the parks director or mayor to take some responsibility for the leagues that are serving the community’s youth.
I am sure there will come a day when all youth-sports organizations are required to meet certain minimum standards. Today, there is no consistent legislation or oversight. Unfortunately, it falls on us to be the advocates for change in our own communities.
John Engh is executive director of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in West Palm Beach, Fla. He can be reached via email at jengh@nays.org. To join more than 3,000 communities by starting a NAYS Member Organization, visit www.nays.org, email nays@nays.org or call (800) 729-2057.