More than 200 coaches convicted of child sex offences since 1998

Sadly I think the only way to safeguard our kids is for parents to act act as though every adult male might be a potential sexual predator, and to not put our kids at risk just because we like to watch sports.

My kids will probably play hockey, soccer, whatever, and I encourage it, but I don’t see why they have to go on overnight trips or ever have ant kind of “alone time” with their coach or team staff. You Your kids aren’t going to the NHL and mine aren’t either, I don’t see why they can’t benefit from what sports has to offer down on the pond or the local arena and without needing special private examinations by the team doc to ensure peak performance.

That will absolutely kill the chances of anyone being a volunteer coach. Better would be to institute some rules (if they haven’t been already) about where and when coaches and players can interact. For example, if I was a teacher, in no way could I get away with being alone with a female student no matter the reason.

That sort of thing I think needs to start happening with youth sports. Put some rules in place to protect everyone without explicitly assuming people are in it for the pedophilia.

I don't understand how at least some of these coaches aren't dead or beaten into a coma.

I can't be THAT unique.

I don’t think a lot of these predators are in it for the pedophilia, In fact I bet a lot of these pervs never even considered themselves to be pedophiles or ever imagined doing anything like that until the opportunity presented itself and then in the moment they crossed the line and then maybe they became repeat offenders or maybe they didn’t.

As the article says, a lot of these organizations don’t take the issue seriously because they put concerns like attracting athletes and volunteers ahead of child safety or simply lack the sophistication to implement and consistently follow best practices.

I think that no coach or staff should ever be alone with any minor regardless of gender, but even the staff buddy system doesn’t prevent situations where both adults are predators. This is where larhr design comes in. For example instead of simply making rules for protecting kids while traveling with the team on overnight hockey tournaments maybe we should be asking if kids that young really need to be going on overnight hockey tournaments to begin with. That will reduce the chances of something going wrong.

If you're putting your kids in sports because you like to watch sports, you're doing it for the wrong reason. The sport is supposed to be about them, not us.

'Overnight' trips aren't common in the hockey world but tournaments for the weekend are. They are the highlight for most teams to go away with theif friends and families. Players don't go away with only the coaches. The families come and they each have their own room.

Well said.

If you're putting your kids in sports because you like to watch sports, you're doing it for the wrong reason. The sport is supposed to be about them, not us.

'Overnight' trips aren't common in the hockey world but tournaments for the weekend are. They are the highlight for most teams to go away with theif friends and families. Players don't go away with only the coaches. The families come and they each have their own room.


I don’t like the watch sports actually. What I said was kids can benefit from sports without being in ultra-competitive leagues that put them at the mercy of these predators who are supposed to “groom” them to be elite athletes.

What you say about travel- maybe that depends on the league, I didn’t notice any parents in that Humboldt Broncos crash. And as I recall, notorious hockey predator Graham James victimized his players on road trips. But I note that those are highly competitive leagues with future-NHLers ( in fact I think James was also with the Broncos) which is kind of my point- kids don’t need to be playing at that level IMO their safety shouldn’t suffer for the glory of the sport, better to let the sport suffer for the safety of the kids.

The Bronco's were coming home from an away game and most of them adults at 18+. Not really within the scope of issues like this.

Overnight trips aren't common in minor hockey and even at the most competitive teams (Midget AAA) parents are always on the road with them for tournaments. My son has almost aged out of minor hockey. This is his last year.

Overnighters may happen in the playoffs if you're playing a team far away. Even then, parents are there.




Graham James is a piece of shit who's crimes occurred just about everywhere. Parents are far more hands on in terms of watching their athletes than they were in the past...and good on them.



Most players in these highly competitive leagues aren't kids. They're adults going down a particular career path.

Stories like this really piss me off. My daughter was a fantastic athlete and played most sports. Hockey and gymnastics are by far the most expensive. Gymnastics because the coach is usually some European that took a team to the medal rounds of an Olympics sometime in the past. Gymnastics is also one of the most demanding, along with figure skating.The kids get injured a lot and the whole program is ran with a very spartan attitude. We parents were actually not allowed to hang out and watch the practices. We were supposed to drop off our kids and pick them up when practice was over. That turned me off very quick, and made me cancel when the first contract was up. I can see how gymnastics is one of the worst sports for perverts because of how they separate the parents from the children early on. Now I am not saying that most gymnastics coaches are perverts. I think that they separate the parents because it is a very grueling sport. There is not a lot of fun or enjoyment going on in the gym. The coaches have to start pushing hard at an early age if they want a prospect for a future Olympics. The rest of the world is doing the same. These coaches want a return to their past glory, and that is their main goal. I do think that the sport lends itself to perverts who work in gymnastics in other capacities as it is the most extreme sport when it comes to separation of the parents and children.

Hockey is very expensive due to all the equipment required and the ice time rental fees. The more prime time of the ice time, the more expensive the time becomes. That adds up to a lot of 6:00 am or 7:00 am games. Hockey was a lot more hands on. You did not just drop your kid off and pick them up. You were expected to help out with coaching, fund raisers, transportation to games, practices, etc. We were a family. I did service work in heating and air. I might have to work a Saturday morning. My kid would spend the night at a teammate's home, and their parents would take them to the game. Sometimes a single parent would have to work nights and I would take their kid to a practice. They would spend the night at my house and I would drop them off at school along with my kid the next day. We all helped out. We all stepped up. It just really disgusts me to think that there are all these perverts out there just trying to take advantage of innocent children.