A good reminder...
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with
adult predators
.
While this might not seem like a topic for a soccer newsletter,
the unfortunate reality is that it is appropriate and necessary
for people to be aware of who is around their children.
Last night I attended a meeting where a detective was discussing
adult predators of youth and how to spot them and how to prevent
them from hurting kids. The reality is, there is no way to spot
an adult predator. An amazing statistic (at least to me) that
came out of this discussion was that 98% of adult predators are
people known to their prey.
While there was a lot of information discussed, really one main
point came up over and over. If you want to protect your kids,
the key is to be there for them. Too often parents will drop
their kids off at a field (whether for soccer or football or
baseball or any other sport) and leave them there with the coach
while they go off and do other things. While I realize that many
people are very busy, the truth is if you want to protect your
kids, the very best thing you as a parent can do is to be there
with them, supervise them as much as possible and let your
presence be known.
It's a bit hypocritical of me because as a coach, I prefer to not
have parents constantly looking over their kid's shoulders (or
mine) but as someone who is worried about the safety of kids, I
don't understand how parents can leave kids with someone else in
an unsupervised way.
If a coach doesn't want parents at practices or at games, this
would be an excellent reason to find a new coach.
If you as a parent think "well the coach is there, I can leave
now" you are wrong. The coach is there to be a coach but you
are, and always will be, a parent and have a responsibility to
look out for the best interests of your children.
Another thing the detective brought up was that predators groom
the environment. They try to develop a feeling of comfort and
trust with those around them so just because you trust people,
doesn't mean you should let your guard down
If you are going to err, err on the side of caution. Kids are
not something you should ever take chances with so be there for
them, look after them and be safe with them.
I have intentionally chosen not to go into greater details but
just remember, your kids are your most precious possession, treat
them as such