No fewer than 80 per cent of the main US Colleges involved in top flight football and athletics programmes have introduced stronger reporting and management policies around minors in the wake of a child abuse scandal that rocked one of the leading colleges Penn State in November 2011.
Ireland is familiar with the devastation that such incidents can wreak and needs to be similarly certain that the areas of protection sporting bodies, schools and universities have in place are both strong and clearly understood.
It is already the case that any coaches involved in under age sport need to have Garda vetting clearance but it is interesting to see what the US Colleges have done in addition to what was already in place.
Among the additional measures are new rules dictating that no member of coaching staff over the age of 18 can have one to one contact with minors; that any member of staff who fails to fully comply with reporting rules can be summarily fired and the taking in house of many coaching summer camps that were previously run off campus by coaches.
The case that brought the issue to light involved an assistant coach at penn State who was found guilty of multiple charges of abuse and is currently serving a prison sentence of between 30 and 60 years. Other coaches at the college, who will play in Dublin as part of the Croke Park Classic in August 2014 were sacked and even the College President was removed as the repercussions of what had taken place spread far and wide.
32 state governments also reviewed their policies and laws in the area of children and sport, with 18 introducing new statutes to bring them up to a higher standard.
Sport is correctly viewed as an important element in the life and development of young people. There are moves afoot to make it a much more integrated part of school curriculum in Ireland and the value in terms of long term health and fitness cannot be overstated.
In many cases a sports coach fulfils one of the few adult child relationships that is seen as trusted but outside the authority of a parent or teacher relationship. Studies have shown that maintaining a child in a sporting environment will reduce the chances of an early introduction to alcohol and other drugs.
We are fortunate that Ireland has a strong commitment to juvenile sport through the big three of Gaelic Games, Rugby and Soccer, and that there is an acute awareness of the importance of managing a healthy approach to child welfare.
It is though an area that can never be left alone and is one that needs to be constantly tested and reviewed against international standards.
The review of laws and regulations across US College Sport should be heeded and any lessons to emerge applied to youth sport in Ireland so that we do not put at risk the magic of sport for young people.
Sports Tourism Seminar at Croke Park (September 19th)
Sport for Business 20/20 at Ulster Bank HQ (October 8th)
The Business of Youth Sport Seminar (November 28th)
