Tackling Abuse in Sport: SafeSport as a guide for Parents and Coaches

By KC Athletics, 10/11/21, 2:30PM CDT

Did you know every coach at KC Athletics is required to be certified by SafeSport?

Whether you are a coach, player, or parent of an athlete, you are aware that Abuse in youth sports is a topic of intense discussion nation-wide. How do we begin to tackle the problem? Where do we go to report it when we see it? What does it look like? KC Athletics uses SafeSport as its guide to meet our families' needs.

Tackling Abuse in Sport: Safesport as a Guide for parents and coaches

There has a been a lot in the news in recent years about the abuse by players, parents, and coaches in sports. Most recently, the NWSL has taken center stage after an article was published in The Athletic highlighting a process that allowed abuse to happen over a prolonged period of time and how an organization was setup to cover it up. It's not an easy topic to discuss, but it's one we don't take lightly. Did you know KC Athletics coaches are all Safesport trained and must re-certify every year? What is Safesport and how can parents and coaches benefit from Safesport?

What is SafeSport?

FOSTERING RESPECT.
ENDING ABUSE IN SPORT.

As reports of sexual abuse in amateur sport made headlines in the 2010s, it had become clear: America deserved a safer sport culture.

To achieve this, a new paradigm anchored by a new organization was needed. One that was authorized by Congress to help abuse prevention, education, and accountability take root in every sport, on every court. One that was dedicated solely to ending sexual, physical, and emotional abuse on behalf of athletes everywhere.

From this need, the U.S. Center for SafeSport was created.

How does KC Athletics use Safesport as a guide for our players, parents, coaches, and club Family?

While all coaches and administrators that are carded for participation in Heartland, NLMC, and ECNL are required to be SafeSport certified, KC Athletics extends that to all of our parents and coaches, paid or unpaid, who work with our youth. So how do we view the policies and standards put forth by Safesport?

KCA promotes SafeSport as a process designed to protect the kids and the coaches.
KCA uses SafeSport guidelines to educate and empower coaches to coach to the best of their ability while protecting the health and safety of the kids.
KCA's procedures are designed to prevent “he said/she said” situations, i.e., two carded adults on the bench, do not drive kids alone, do not visit kids in their hotel rooms on travel trips, no direct messaging (texting or otherwise) with youth players without another adult on the message, etc. Steps that may sound obvious, but are necessary to develop appropriate boundaries between coach and athlete.
KCA uses the SafeSport program to build and maintain the trust of the kids and parents by providing a professional and safe coaching environment.
KCA believes that when coaches, administrators, players and teams follow procedures consistently, inappropriate situations and behavior are more likely recognizable.
SafeSport guidelines and education provide KCA coaches and administrators better skills and knowledge to support their players.
- Be observant
- Identify changes in behavior
- Identify inappropriate behavior by coaches whether internal or outside the club
- Report inappropriate actions and/or behavior promptly
KCA players will know that if they come to a coach or director with a concern, they will be heard and that appropriate measures will be taken to protect them.

At KC Athletics we have four club Values as established by our coaching staff: Passion, Compete, Integrity, and Respect. Inherent in our definition of Respect, we seek to provide environments that are Safe and build Trust between the players, coaches, and parents. It is only through environments based in Safety and Trust that development of the whole child can occur.