U.S. Center for SafeSport

Back to School and Fall Sports: Tips to Help Keep Kids Safe in New Environments

Preparing for the start of school and fall sports? Check out our tips on how you can make sure kids’ environments are safe and positive. 

For parents and guardians with kids heading back to school, and for coaches and sport administrators checking their rosters and preparing for the first day of fall sports, back to school is a busy time. It’s a time to gather school supplies, sporting equipment, and refamiliarize yourself with a routine after a long summer break. 

While you’re busily arranging carpools for your child, or preparing for your first team practice as a coach, it’s the perfect opportunity to pause and consider how you can help keep kids safe and comfortable in the new environments they’ll find themselves in. 

Read the full article to explore helpful tips, like the ones listed below, and get the tools you need to help the children in your life transition smoothly this fall into new activities. 

Parents: 

Check in regularly. As the season starts, check in with your child regularly to see how they’re doing and how they’re feeling. Checking in with their coach can also help you understand how your child is adjusting to their new environment. 

Coaches:  

Know what to look out for. Recognizing inappropriate behavior early can help you address it before it turns into something more, like hazing or bullying. Knowing what to look out for will help you maintain a positive sport environment on your team. 

Navigating New Environments

Back to school and fall sports come with a lot of “firsts” for kids. Many kids will be walking into a new classroom with a new teacher—or they might be entering an entirely new school. Kicking off fall sports also comes with a lot of unknowns. From joining a new team to working with a new coach to playing a new sport, there are countless opportunities for kids to feel excited, anxious, or a little uneasy. 

All of these feelings are common and understandable. Adjusting to change can be hard, especially for children, who often take comfort in stability and predictability. 

As a parent, guardian, coach, or sport administrator, you can help children successfully navigate these new atmospheres by familiarizing yourself with the spaces, environments, and situations they’ll be in. Below, we’ve listed a few tips to help you better understand how you can help make this transition as safe and positive as possible. 

Tips for Parents and Guardians: 

  1. Get to know your child’s coach or instructor. If your child is starting a new sport, activity, or joining a new team, taking the time to ask questions and get to know their coach or instructor can help you be more informed about their sport environment. 
  2. Check in regularly. As the season starts, check in with your child regularly—on drives home from practice, at the dinner table—to see how they’re doing and how they’re feeling. Checking in with their coach can also help you understand how your child is adjusting to their new environment or team. 
  3. Educate yourself and be aware. By paying attention to how your child is feeling and acting, you’ll be better able to support them, on and off the field. Our free online training for parents of youth athletes gives you the tools you need to recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse or misconduct in sport. Educating yourself about team, league, or club abuse prevention policies can also help you stay aware of standards put in place to protect your child and their teammates. 

For more tips and guidance on how you, as a parent or guardian, can help make sport safer for your children, explore our Parent and Guardian’s Handbook for Safer Sport. 

Download Handbook

Tips for Coaches and Sport Administrators:

  1. Know what to look out for. Recognizing inappropriate behavior early can help you address and prevent negative behavior before it turns into something more harmful, like hazing or bullying. Knowing what to look out for will help you maintain a positive sport environment on your team. 
  2. Check the CDD. Our Centralized Disciplinary Database lists the names of individuals who have been restricted or banned from participation in U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sport. As you prepare for the start of the fall sports season, this resource can help you make informed decisions about team volunteers, assistant coaches, and more. 
  3. Take a course. By getting SafeSport® Trained, you’ll be equipped to build and maintain sport settings that promote inclusion and prioritize athlete well-being. This translates to a more welcoming sport setting for all athletes. 

For more resources to help you lead by example and promote strong, healthy relationships among athletes, check out our content for coaches.  

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Working Together is Key

Abuse-free sport environments are key to helping children learn, grow, and enjoy their time playing sports. Building and maintaining sport settings where children feel safe and free to be themselves takes the intentional and collaborative effort of coaches, administrators, and parents or guardians. When all of us work together to make sure these environments prioritize respect and athlete safety, we create lasting impressions for children in sport. And we come one step closer to achieving our goal of bringing them back season after season to continue to improve and have fun. 

Learn more about how you can help foster abuse-free sport environments for youth athletes at uscenterforsafesport.org.

U.S. Center for SafeSport