Use Good Judgment When Employing Background Checks
I recently read about a Florida youth organization that requires a photo ID to be worn by any adult walking onto one of their fields.
To get one of these ID badges, a potential coach, or even a parent helper, must pass through a background check performed by the local municipality. There was no mention in the article regarding the acceptable standards to which potential coaches are being held, but they mentioned a guy with a 10 year old conviction for marijuana possession not making the cut.
While background checks on youth league coaches may prevent some child abuse, in the long run, the use of these background checks without exercising sound judgment will likely cause more damage to the youth leagues than good.
Volunteering time to coach requires a level of dedication and a personality that frequently falls within behavioral guidelines that some of us would consider a little “out there”. The sheer amount of personal time a coach spends on the many unseen tasks that fall within the scope of his responsibilities belies a bit of an obsessive compulsive streak.
One might even say the most dedicated coaches – some of the best coaches many of us have ever had – might display qualities associated with addictive personalities.
While running background checks will certainly discourage and eliminate convicted pedophiles from the world of youth coaching, it will also disqualify some excellent coaching candidates who’ve made youthful mistakes with substance abuse or some other anti social behavior, even though they may have learned their lesson and paid their debt to society.
These may be good people, whose past indiscretions provide them with insight into the paths that lead to these unacceptable behaviors, enabling them to provide unique counsel to their players.
So before we start requiring more badges and layers of unrealistic security for youth athletic settings, remember, these coaches aren’t paid babysitters, they’re unpaid volunteers. It’s still the parent’s job to parent and protect their child.
As we inch closer toward the election of a new leader for our country, ask yourself if the best candidates are still interested in applying for the job, or is the unrealistic scrutiny and draconian treatment they receive for past indiscretions keeping the best of the best on the sidelines?
