Protect Your Kids From Predators in Youth Sports

When sending their children to practice on youth sports team, do parents ever think that they are handing their children to a sexual predator?  For many, it is the last thing that crosses their mind.  They assume that they  can trust the people that are being put in contact with their children because they have been able to secure a spot as a coach or administrator on a local youth sports league.  It is the responsibility of the league administrators to do all in their power to protect these children.  It is unfortunate that not everyone is aware of the dangers that sexual predators pose nor are they aware of how this battle to protect our children can be fought.  In September 1999, Sports Illustrated published an article entitled “Every Parent’s Nightmare”. No other article that we have come across has been as in depth and in your face about this harsh reality. The article goes inside the heads of not just the average sexual predator, but the head and thought process of predators that found their victims on the ball field. They are making a combined effort to say, “This is HOW we got your children and this is WHAT you need to be on the lookout for.” 

Although there is no “fool proof” way to fully prevent sexual abuse and molestation, we can work together as a team to put safeguards in place in order to protect these children.  In collaboration with attorneys, insurance underwriters and national risk managers, we have developed information to provide our youth sports league administrators, coaches and volunteers with the tools needed in order to put a risk management program in place.  The Risk Management section of our website provides a Child Abuse and Molestation Protection Program, Child Abuse and Molestation Handout for Parents, as well as, specific information on how to perform criminal background checks and where to find them.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like any further information.

Is stealing from your local league really a crime?

How can a youth sports league protect themselves from embezzlement and theft from its volunteers when it is growing quicker than people may notice or care to see? It is no longer just a corporate problem. The economy is failing, people are losing their homes and vehicles and are pulling at strings to find a means to pay for their lifestyles. Unfortunately, it is not just an innocent rearranging of funds, it is now a matter of stealing from children.  Although we have stressed the importance of Risk Management in local leagues for years, even national organizations such as the National Alliance for Youth Sports have begun awareness of the swindling of funds in their publication, Sporting Kid Magazine “Wanted: Trustworthy Volunteers”.

When we speak to leagues in regards to the risk management for league funds as well as crime insurance in the event that the unthinkable does happen we often get comments such as, “It would never happen to us.”, “We have measures in place for that.”, or the newest one “I’m the only one in control of the money, and I wouldn’t take it.” Unfortunatelly, we are not fully in control of other people’s actions.  More so than ever, we are seeing individuals going to great lengths to get to funds and no one, even the treasurer, sees what is going on until it is too late.   For information on this, as well as other risk management materials, please visit our website.