Background Checks for Coaches

[Rudags]

Something that has bothered me. There was a coach at a gym that was fired because he had a relationship with one of the girls that was on the team. She was a minor at the time. There was no court case. That coach was then rehired at the gym a couple years later. That bothers me a lot.

That bothers me a lot... I also dont get coaches who date people on the team. I mean C'mon.

 

[powerXbaby]

That bothers me a lot... I also dont get coaches who date people on the team. I mean C'mon.

I know, it wouldn't be acceptable at any other workplace, why would they expect it to be acceptable when they're coaching cheerleading. I know another gym that has a ban against cheerleaders on the team being friends on facebook with or having the phone number of a male coach at the gym. I don't know if that's a little overboard, but I think it's the right idea. I also know a gym that only hires gay coaches, but of course some of the male cheerleaders might be gay also, so...it's only preventing a minority lol. Not to say that it can't go the other way around as well.

 

[Mclovin]

I'm not a lawyer but I worked as a paralegal for a while before having kids. The only thing an employer is allowed to tell you if you call is how long they worked there and whether or not they are still employed there. Other than that, they will get themselves into big trouble giving out anymore info than that. And as far as open court cases, if you know the county the case might be pending in, I think you can run a check for a minimal fee. Not 100% on that. I know you can on civil cases, just not positive on criminal cases. But I really think the best thing any employer can do is do everything they can to run the best background check then can, and if they come up clean, keep your eye on them very carefully. Never let an employee be alone with an athlete, ever. Parents, if your kids do private lessons with someone of the opposite sex, never leave them there alone. A cheer gym is a place where there's usually lots of people around all the time. If employer and parents both take proper precautions, one of them should be able to spot unusual behavior.

 

[cheerymom]

Teachers are required to get fingerprinted prior to working with children.

 

[ACEDAD]

Never let an employee be alone with an athlete, ever. Parents, if your kids do private lessons with someone of the opposite sex, never leave them there alone. A cheer gym is a place where there's usually lots of people around all the time. If employer and parents both take proper precautions, one of them should be able to spot unusual behavior.

Never leave them alone with anyone of any sex. Too dangerous for anyone involved.

Maintaining any kind of blacklist would likely be very illegal. An exception that I know is that the NCAA will maintain a "show cause" list for coaches that want to return to college coaching. Not sure how that would work for USASF.

But I would be in favor of it.

 

[King]

Never leave them alone with anyone of any sex. Too dangerous for anyone involved.

Maintaining any kind of blacklist would likely be very illegal. An exception that I know is that the NCAA will maintain a "show cause" list for coaches that want to return to college coaching. Not sure how that would work for USASF.

But I would be in favor of it.

I agree that something like this cannot probably be done legally. But a guide to easily help one do background checks would probably be very useful.

 

[ACEDAD]

I agree that something like this cannot probably be done legally. But a guide to easily help one do background checks would probably be very useful.

While I understand that the USASF still has things to fix, the gym certification program already has information on this and even provides links, etc.

Very often, it seems to me, people here don't take advantage of things that have already been done. And if it isn't spoon fed to them, they complain.

 

[King]

While I understand that the USASF still has things to fix, the gym certification program already has information on this and even provides links, etc.

Very often, it seems to me, people here don't take advantage of things that have already been done. And if it isn't spoon fed to them, they complain.

While I agree people don't always take advantage of things available to them, through my years of system design and the psychology of people interacting with interfaces (I actually got minors in both of those, believe it or not) it comes down to the simple fact that...

If it ain't easy to find and use like people are used to, people wont do it.

It might be completely better than anything we have had before and be an extremely comprehensive coaches packet. But if it isnt like facebook and just works really easily, I wont use it. Or if I can go on Fierce Board and ask a question and get it answered (usually within 15 minute too) I will just go do that.

So yes, people will complain if it isn't spoon fed to them. In the tech world it means we have just learned that to be very successful in business you just need to be the one making the spoons.

 

[Mclovin]

Never leave them alone with anyone of any sex. Too dangerous for anyone involved.

Maintaining any kind of blacklist would likely be very illegal. An exception that I know is that the NCAA will maintain a "show cause" list for coaches that want to return to college coaching. Not sure how that would work for USASF.

But I would be in favor of it.

What is a "show cause" list?

 

[ACEDAD]

What is a "show cause" list?

For example, let's say a coach gets in trouble for some kind of cheating or recruiting violation. I know this is a reach, but bear with me! :)

Anyway, there's a big problem at the university and the coach gets fired, while the university gets probation.

It is very possible that the coach will be put on the "show cause" list by the NCAA. That means that if another university wants to hire him, the new university has to make their case with the NCAA and "show cause" as to why the NCAA should allow the hire.

Kelvin Sampson (formerly Indiana basketball coach) is the first one that comes to mind.

Here's a bit more info from Sporting News:

Definition: The "Show Cause" penalty is perhaps the harshest in the NCAA's arsenal, as it essentially prevents a person from working in college basketball.
A show cause penalty -- usually with set duration -- may be handed down for a variety of reasons, but is most often used for coaches who commit NCAA violations relating to recruiting. For example, ex-Indiana coach was hit with a five-year show cause penalty stemming from improper phone calls made to recruits, and Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien faced the same penalty after making an under-the-table payment to a recruit.
Any school wishing to hire a coach under a "show cause" designation must appear before the NCAA infractions committee and potentially face new sanctions. No Division I athletic director has ever taken that step. As such, "show cause" usually amounts to a total ban from working at the college level for the duration of the penalty. For example, California coach Todd Bozeman was hit with an eight-year show cause penalty stemming from improper payments made to the family of one of his players. Ten years elapsed before Bozeman was able to find a job at the college level -- he's currently the head coach at Morgan State.

 

[Mclovin]

Wow!! I really like that!! While something like that would most likely never make it's way to all star cheerleading, it would be nice to have SOME kind of committee that oversees why coaches are fired from gyms. I personally believe any time you work with minors, everything about why you were fired should be available for people to see. While I do believe that there are kids and/or parents out there that would make bogus accusations just because they are ticked off about something, my feeling is that most accusations have some truth behind them. If someone has an open case against them, they should be banned from coaching until that case has been settled in a court of law. If they are found not guilty, they go on coaching as usual. If they are found guilty, banned for a certain period of time depending on what the infraction was. If it was sexual in nature, then banned forever. I like this concept.

 

[Rudags]

Wow!! I really like that!! While something like that would most likely never make it's way to all star cheerleading, it would be nice to have SOME kind of committee that oversees why coaches are fired from gyms. I personally believe any time you work with minors, everything about why you were fired should be available for people to see. While I do believe that there are kids and/or parents out there that would make bogus accusations just because they are ticked off about something, my feeling is that most accusations have some truth behind them. If someone has an open case against them, they should be banned from coaching until that case has been settled in a court of law. If they are found not guilty, they go on coaching as usual. If they are found guilty, banned for a certain period of time depending on what the infraction was. If it was sexual in nature, then banned forever. I like this concept.

Rudags likes this!

 

[CheerKatie08]

McLovin & ACEDAD: love both of your ideas combined.

Question for whoever's willing to answer- how thorough would you like coaches at your gym to be background checked? How would you feel about drug testing as well? If caught during a drug test, how long of a suspension do you think is appropriate? Do you feel this is an invasion of privacy? At both my job and in my sorority we can be drug tested at any time for no good reason. If they came out positive at either, I would be asked to leave. If two seperate groups of 100+ college aged girls (the demographics are pretty much the same for both) can do this without any problems, is it so much to ask of coaches, who most of the time have grown out of the 'let's get crazy on the weekends' phase? Curious to hear especially parents & coaches POV's on this since I'm neither a coach or an expecting parent (unless there is some immaculate conception going on LOL)

 

[Rudags]

I would have no problem being drug tested. As long as I can enjoy my budlight with no questions asked...

 

[Mclovin]

I definitely think a background check should check for any criminal offenses relating to drugs and/or alcohol and most definitely other obvious offenses. Coaches should also be subject to random drug testing since as coaches we are dealing with children AND their safety. Drinking once you're over the age of 21 should be on your own time and dime. No drinking the night before a competition. The kids don't deserve your stresssed out, hungover attitude.