USA Softball revised requirements for tournaments

[Chris8]

My only complaint about the background checks is that USSSA wants to do their own background check. ASA/USA wants to do their own background check, etc. One background check should be fine for all associations.

Then you have ASA charging you $25 for level 1 Ace Certicification, $20 for level 2, and $20 for level 3, and now they added a level 4. At some point, the amount of paperwork to coach youth sports becomes quite the pain in the rear.

Maybe so, from your point of view. But consider this. USSSA, USA, PGF, Little League etc are all their own separate organizations. There for they have to do their OWN due diligence and back ground checks.

In our area if you coach your DD in a Softball only Little League (chartered by Little League International) and your DS plays baseball in a different Little League (chartered by LLI) you will have to do a BG check with each LL since they are their own entity and charter even though under the umbrella of LLI.

Another perspective is to look at it this way. Company A hires Bill and does a background check. Company B wants to hire Bill. They don't use Company A's background check they do their own. It isn't something that is transferable (like concusion training certification or first aid) from company to company that travels with the person. Similarly each sanctioning ORG, just from a liability perspective, is not going to rely on a BG check performed by another ORG....lawyers and litigious folks would have a hay day with that one.

 

[Lemond]

If they have a problem with it they shouldn't be coaching.

The lanyard part we only encountered at USA Softball Northern Nationals, no other tournaments required this. It may have been written in the rules somewhere but nobody followed it and there was no enforcement.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yes!!!

I would have an issue leaving my DD on a field with someone who wants to fight this because they are not willing to give up less than two hours of their time to help ensure the safety of the kids on his team.

Yes, it's a feels-weird kind of training, yes it's a bummer you have to do it every year in some form (Safesport does an abbreviated refresher ever other(?) year), yes it seems stupid that there is not a national one-time deal (although, as I mentioned earlier, I would be surprised if they do not end up doing that within a few years), and yes I understand that 99.9999% of the people we know on the fields are not the ones we are worried about. However, if the 5-6 hours a year I spend doing this for 3 different organizations allows me to prevent one kid from getting abused in any way, shape or form, or if I am able to identify a kid in a jam because of this training and help get that kid into a safer/better situation, it will be worth 10+ years of repeating this training.

That's the personal level. Open it up to the team/organization level, and if there is ever an incident, heaven forbid, that goes unnoticed or unreported, that will likely spell the end of your organization. I know of a HS that had a very bad issue around six+ years ago, and they still are trying to recover the program even with the entire old coaching staff gone and replaced.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Umpires have to underground several background checks a year; every time we register with each organization, that is where a portion of our fees go.

We have far less access to the kids and are around them significantly less than coaches. Why wouldn't you want coaches to be trained and vetted?

I've alluded to it, but I don't think I have ever actually told the story. I won't bore you with the details, but the final straw for me when I left running the local rec program was when I found out that we had a coach that "developed a relationship" with a 12-year old. That was bad enough, but when I found out three of my Board members knew and were covering it up ... Incidentally, those Board members are running the program now.

 

[Lemond]

Umpires have to underground several background checks a year; every time we register with each organization, that is where a portion of our fees go.

We have far less access to the kids and are around them significantly less than coaches. Why wouldn't you want coaches to be trained and vetted?

I've alluded to it, but I don't think I have ever actually told the story. I won't bore you with the details, but the final straw for me when I left running the local rec program was when I found out that we had a coach that "developed a relationship" with a 12-year old. That was bad enough, but when I found out three of my Board members knew and were covering it up ... Incidentally, those Board members are running the program now.

No statute of limitations on that if it has not been reported... (SafeSport)

 

[The Man In Blue]

Oh it was ... actually just before I found out. To me, that made the actions of those Board members even more disgusting.

Not that it would have prevented it (the coach had no priors), but the next season we worked with the local police department to start conducting basic criminal background checks. We were unaffiliated with any organization, and that helped my push to affiliate the next year. (The current Board dropped that affiliation as soon as I left.)

Also a great reason to NOT let related individuals sit on a board. It was a husband and wife (plus her best friend). Three out of five can do a lot of damage.

 

[Lemond]

Oh it was ... actually just before I found out. To me, that made the actions of those Board members even more disgusting.

Not that it would have prevented it (the coach had no priors), but the next season we worked with the local police department to start conducting basic criminal background checks. We were unaffiliated with any organization, and that helped my push to affiliate the next year. (The current Board dropped that affiliation as soon as I left.)

Also a great reason to NOT let related individuals sit on a board. It was a husband and wife (plus her best friend). Three out of five can do a lot of damage.

Glad it at least got reported! Unreal! Even more so, glad you have distanced yourself from it! What a legal nightmare, aside from the immorality of it!

 

[obritt]

Umpires have to underground several background checks a year; every time we register with each organization, that is where a portion of our fees go.

We have far less access to the kids and are around them significantly less than coaches. Why wouldn't you want coaches to be trained and vetted?

I've alluded to it, but I don't think I have ever actually told the story. I won't bore you with the details, but the final straw for me when I left running the local rec program was when I found out that we had a coach that "developed a relationship" with a 12-year old. That was bad enough, but when I found out three of my Board members knew and were covering it up ... Incidentally, those Board members are running the program now.

Don't coach anymore so no nothing about any organizations checks. Have done Scouts background and child safety programs. When we see anything we are required to report it. Teachers are by law required to report it. Would hope all child organizations be it asa, usssa, pgf or whatever would be required to report or loose board seats or even spend time in the POKEY.

 

[The Man In Blue]

I did look into it at the time, mainly because I was worried about what they had exposed us to, but also because I was trying to find some way to get them off the board at that point.

I honestly don’t know if this has changed, but at that time volunteers were not considered “mandatory reporters” under our state law.

 

[Lemond]

I did look into it at the time, mainly because I was worried about what they had exposed us to, but also because I was trying to find some way to get them off the board at that point.

I honestly don’t know if this has changed, but at that time volunteers were not considered “mandatory reporters” under our state law.

For California, it is state law (2-4 yrs ago?) that we are all mandatory reporters (board members, coaches, ACs, umpires, etc...). It's a good thing, but sad that it is needed at all.

 

[bmakj]

in my eyes all adults are mandatory reporters under the over arching universe wide law of being a human being