How to use the code
Hand the code out at your pre-season coaches meeting and collect a signed copy from every head coach before the first practice, every season. Assistants are background-checked and trained to the same standard, so have them sign too.
Several lines come straight from federal law. The Safe Sport Act (2018) applies to amateur sports organizations that take part in interstate competition with minors, and one out-of-state tournament is enough. It requires adults authorized to interact with minors to report suspected abuse to law enforcement within 24 hours, and limits one-on-one adult and minor interactions to those another adult can observe and interrupt Sourced. Even a purely local league should adopt the same standards.
- Fill in your own numbers before you print: your state child abuse hotline, your league safety officer, and the name of your playing-time rule.
- Match line 5 to the conduct ladder in your rulebook (decision 16 in the rulebook decisions worksheet).
- Keep signed copies with the coach's background check and training dates, and store them confidentially.
Who to screen and what a good check covers is in background checks and child safety. How to recruit and train the coaches who sign it is in recruiting volunteer flag football coaches. Point every coach to the free Flag50 coaching tools for playbooks and practice plans.