Problems, comments or questions about this site?   Please email us at  webmaster (at) coachjerry (dot) com

Background Checks for Coaches

Here's a question that shouldn't have to be asked, but is quite important:

I am in the board of an amateur baseball league for boys ages 13 -18. We're part of the New England Youth Sports Association. Our association is small, usually we have 2 teams of 30 boys total. To date most of our coaches have been made up of the original starting board members, as such we have not performed any background checks. We are beginning to transition some new people into the organization especially as coaches. Can you provide some guidance on how we should go about approving our coaches. At this small size do we need to do a formal background checks? What are your thoughts? 

In a small organization such as yours, the important steps in screening or qualifying volunteers should include the following:

1. Interviews
2. Reference checks
3. Police Record checks (PRC)
4. Coach Training

The following is a brief discussion on each of these steps.

Interviews provide an opportunity to talk to potential volunteers about their background, skills and interests and help determine the suitability of the candidate for the assignment. I can provide a list of questions for the interview if you'd like.

References can  be very helpful in the selection of new volunteers as they confirm the background and skills of the individual and provide an outside opinion on the suitability of the candidate. I can provide you a form for requesting references.

Police Record Checks (PRC) can indicate if the individual has been convicted of a crime in the jurisdiction checked but are no guarantee of the acceptability of the candidate because many abusers and sex offenders have never been convicted of a crime. Police record checks come in several forms and with varying costs. There are three basic types of checks; local checks, state wide checks and national checks. Some utilize name and address and/or social security number. Some checks also make use of fingerprints but are more costly and somewhat more difficult to implement. In our state, the local or county check is free. The state check costs about $15 and the national check, which requires fingerprints costs $33. Not withstanding the limitations of police record checks, they do serve an important purpose. By conducting such a check, the organization sends a public signal that it is concerned about the safety of the children. There is a company called Southeastern Security Consultants, Inc. that is recommended by the National Alliance for Youth Sports that will do criminal background checks at a reasonable price. You can check their web site at www.ssci2000.com.

Coach Training is the final element in qualifying coaches. Few coaches are knowledgeable in the psycho-social aspects of coaching young people. Many coaches don't know how to teach the fundamental skills associated with the sport they coach. Others need help organizing effective drills. Few understand how to insure a positive sports experience for their players. For these reasons, I highly recommend that your organization implement coach training. Check the National Alliance for Youth Sports (www.nays.org) for resources. (For a more detailed description of this organization, check our Links section.)