Background Checks

With great fanfare, the Amateur Athletic Union recently announced that it was implementing “historic child protection measures to ensure the safety of youth athletes.”  Among the measures; background checks.  Our national Judo organizations have had mandatory background checks for coaches for years.  Sadly, routine background checks every four years have not stopped inappropriate, sexual behavior between underaged children and their coaches.

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Fighting Complacency

I know.  It’s been over a month since my last post.  It hasn’t been because I didn’t have anything to write about.  On the contrary.  Reality is that other club projects have kept me away from my keyboard.  I finally have some breathing room, so here we go again.

A long talk with my daughter yesterday is prompting me to talk about a situation all coaches encounter:  how to handle complacency, poor work ethic and sloppy Judo that our kids exhibit from time to time.   Continue reading