Niagara PAL Soccer Club/Niagara United FC Child Protection Policy

As coaches, managers and staff leading a sport organization that deals primarily with children, it is our duty to ensure they are provided with a safe environment. NPALSC/NUFC considers a child to be anyone under eighteen. All Travel Coaches are required to complete Safe Sport Training and undergo a background check. All volunteers associated with NPALSC/NUFC must abide by the following:

Guidelines for Appropriate Conduct Between an Adult and a Player

 A coach, manager, or club volunteer must not:

·       Engage directly for personal reasons not pertaining to soccer related issues with children through the phone or social media channels such as: email, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, texting, etc. Club and team-based group communication sites such as TeamSnap, MOJO and Sports Connect are to be utilized whenever possible.

·       Participate in any direct meeting with a child that is not in an openly visible location to another adult such as the team manager, assistant coach and/or the child’s parent or guardian. Ad-hoc direct feedback before, during or post games/practice scenarios is encouraged but must always be done at the training ground or similar venues within a visible setting.

·       Be alone with a child in a non-visible place and/or enclosed space, such as a car, change room or similar area or provide transportation to and from practices, tournaments, festivals and games to children unless accompanied by the child’s guardian or with the guardian’s consent.

·       Leave children alone after a game or practice if their parent/guardian has not arrived to pick them up. If such a situation were to arise, it is the responsibility of the coach to ensure that another adult or person remain in the company of the coach and child wherever possible if not in an openly visible location.

·       Use profanity, ridicule, verbal abuse or engage in any unwarranted physical contact with a child.

·       Expose children to unsafe or unhealthy environments such as extreme heat or cold, excessive training regimes that are not developmentally appropriate, training equipment or facilities that are dangerous, or to any contamination be it biological (e.g., bacteria, virus), chemical (e.g., vapors, gasses) or physical (e.g., materials).

·       Coaches, Managers, Staff Members MUST ensure practices are in a visible area and that there are parents/guardians and or other adults who have children on the team present in the immediate vicinity from arrival at the session to departure. Wherever possible, do not conduct practices alone with a team.

When in doubt about these guidelines, err on the side of caution or seek guidance from the club.

What to do When you Witness Inappropriate Conduct

·       If an NPALSC/NUFC coach, manager, or volunteer witnesses or becomes aware of any contravention of the above policy, it shall immediately be reported to the President of the Club.