wejo wrote:
Maybe I should start a separate thread on this.
I've never seen the SafeSport guidelines before. They seem pretty good except for one.
"An ethical coach will not text, email or call an athlete separately from teammates"
I can see tons of reasons a coach would text or email an athlete apart from their teammates or even call them - to give individual instruction. Am I way off base here?
Email is a professional means of communication and a written record is left. "Hey Jim, you need to 5x mile @ such and such pace . Let me know how the workout goes."
Hey "Jim, how is the injury going? Did we learn anything from the PT appointment?"
Is this only dealing with minors? Or all coach athlete relationships? I guarantee pro coaches are texting/calling/ athletes all the time individual in tons of pro sports and college sports too.
Calling leaves no record but the others do.
What happens if you violate this guideline?
Wejo those weren't the SafeSport guidelines. Those were guidelines for preventing sexual abuse put out by Champion Women.
You can read USATF's policies here:
https://www.usatf.org/safesport/safesport-handbookAll NGBs are required to adopt certain "Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies" that the Center for SafeSport put out, these are contained in our SafeSport Handbook.
One on one digital communication with _minor_ athletes is prohibited, you can read the details via the link above. You need to copy a parent/guardian or other applicable adult (that might be like a coach or administrator in your club).
SafeSport only applies to organizations under the USOPC's umbrella, it does not apply to high schools or colleges or other professional sports leagues.