Background checks are utilized by various industries to support the hiring process. The entertainment business, for example, uses background investigations to maintain safer environments and avoid scandals. Similarly, sports organizations rely on these services to protect athletes and the reputation of their league. This is particularly important when dealing with youth sports and minors. Ensuring the safety of children in these environments must be a top priority, and background checks provide the first layer of defense against bad actors.
While the primary purpose of criminal and media background checks for coaches is to protect the players, it also benefits the leagues by fostering greater trust from parents and communities. The safety of children is paramount and a solid diligence plan, including pre-hiring background checks on employees and volunteers, as well as regular update checks, is an essential part of this plan. As parents of young children and athletes ourselves, we are aware that trusting others with your children is a leap of faith and regularly conducting thorough background checks is one method to reduce the risk of harm.
In addition, the long-term effects of a single scandal can cause lasting damage to a league’s credibility and youth sports’ program’s business, making it vital to prioritize thorough vetting of everyone who will interact with minors, with or without parents and guardians present. Background checks help ensure that only individuals with a trustworthy character and vetted qualifications are in such roles, enhancing the overall experience for young athletes and their families. Implementing comprehensive and regular background screening is one of the most effective ways for sports leagues and programs to reduce the risk involved with pairing athletes with coaches and support staff.
Youth sports leagues and programs are businesses like any other, so in addition to the safety concerns, it is prudent to conduct background checks on administrative and other employees who may not have direct contact with minors.
Embezzlement has been a problem for youth sports organizations across the country. In 2024 alone, three scandals involving the misuse of funds occurred. For instance, a former president and treasurer of Mashpee Youth Baseball in Mashpee, Massachusetts, was charged with larceny, money laundering, and receiving stolen property. In Lincoln County, Missouri, the President, Treasurer, and concessions contractor were all accused of using funds meant for the Troy Soccer League for personal use, leading to the league’s closure due to a lack of funds. Finally, the former treasurer of the Columbia Boys Athletic Association was accused of stealing over $184,000. The alleged perpetrators in these financial crimes were trusted by their communities and the youth they were meant to help. Thorough background checks can help organizations from hiring individuals in these capacities who had similar allegations in their past and help to preserve the integrity of the organizations.
Youth sports coaches spend a significant amount of time with vulnerable children—often without parental supervision. In 2017, the nonprofit U.S. Center for SafeSport was established to reduce the sexual abuse of minors in sports. According to the U.S Center for SafeSport, over 15,000 complaints of abuse in sports have been reported over the years.
In 2024, a Texas Little League baseball coach was sentenced to 40 years in prison on child exploitation charges, specifically involving the production and distribution of child pornography. The individual used his position as a trusted coach to gain access to vulnerable children, betraying the trust of the minors entrusted in his care, the parents, and the organization. Little League Baseball Inc. was also served with a lawsuit in connection with this incident, which reached a settlement in the victim’s favor prior to trial. Another instance of alleged coaching abuse took place in Riverside County, California, where a youth football coach allegedly physically assaulted an opposing player, resulting in charges for battery and willfully harming a child.
Incidents such as these show why background checks for youth coaches and volunteers should be utilized by organizations as a routine measure in an overall risk mitigation program deployed by leagues to protect children in their care. While a background check cannot outright prevent an incident or crime from occurring, it is one risk mitigation tool an organization can deploy both at the outset of the relationship and with periodic refreshes as a minimum standard of care.
Youth athletes are a vulnerable population and their supervision, coaching, and development require trust between parents and staff. A thorough background check for coaches and other staff can be one tool that helps nurture that trust by acting as a baseline standard of care. Screening a coach or volunteer’s credentials, criminal history, and social media presence should be an essential part of a risk mitigation program that helps pave the way for a safer and more secure environment within youth sports organizations.
Contact Checkers International for your background screening needs today.
Juan Diaz is a Senior Media Researcher for Checkers International based out of Southern California. He began with the company in 2018. He studied communications at Woodbury University where he also became a member of the Lambda Pi Eta Communications Honor Society. Prior to becoming a media researcher, he was a freelance entertainment writer focusing on SEO-based content.
