Constant vigilance needed to ensure coaches’ proper behavior
Stories about coaches getting involved with underage students is not a new phenomenon. The difference now is they don’t stay hidden.
As troubling as the recent stories are about the Pecos coaches arrested on sex charges, it’s better that we read and hear about them than for them to remain in the dark — things no one talks about. Two or three decades ago, they were dirty little secrets communities tried to avoid or ignore. It often took someone with courage to step out of the shadows to confront their perpetrators before it became public.
It’s not that different now, but the tools at the disposal of law enforcement, school administrators and even coaches are better for revealing these crimes.
If anything, social media has helped shine a light on more of these incidents. Of course, they also encourage them, but the digital footprints Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, text messaging and cellphone calls leave makes it easier to build cases.
The truth, though, is those tools are rendered useless unless someone speaks up about a coach giving an athlete (or a student) too much attention. However, it doesn’t mean that schools and school districts shouldn’t do everything they can to ensure the safety of students and student-athletes. It appears that coaches and administrators are doing all they can to do that.
Background checks and reference checks, as well as school and district policies, are designed to make sure that new hires are aware of the expectations they must meet.
But that’s just the hiring process. It’s different once coaches have to perform their duties.
Head coaches talk about open-door policies in which they can’t be alone with athletes, having assistant coaches involved with discussions with an individual or using group email and text messaging functions as the means of communication.
Administrators, coaches, parents and even the student-athletes themselves can do all the right things, but there is no guarantee that will work.
“There is only so much you can do,” said Veronica García, the superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools.
We must be vigilant about it. It’s really the best tool to fight this problem. Coaches can’t just have one conversation about following policies — it has to be a constant discourse. Administrators can’t just hand out handbooks or district policies at the beginning of the school year or a season and simply leave it in the hands of coaches.
The dialogue must be consistent, both in frequency and tone. Even small slip-ups can be the precursor to a bigger problem, and the emphasis must be clear that inappropriate conduct is unacceptable, regardless of the circumstances.
Again, that’s hard to do, because we are human, after all. We develop relationships with one another, through our work, our hobbies and our habits — whether it’s among adults, teenagers or even children.
The key is establishing proper, healthy relationships, because most of us can recall an adult who had an impact on shaping our lives.
That’s what educators and coaches are supposed to teach.