The U.S. Center for SafeSport has released a valuable resource: this informational sheet on “Keeping Your Kids Safe Online During COVID-19.”

These guidelines recommend that all adults:

• Get parent/guardian permission for each type of online communication you use with athletes, including team apps, video sharing, and virtual training sessions.
• Should you need to communicate with an individual athlete, always copy the athlete’s parent/guardian or another adult. This includes notifying them with dates, times, and links to individual virtual sessions.
• Just like in-person meetings, one-on-one virtual interactions must be observable and interruptible and require written consent.
• Include the entire team in communications whenever possible and appropriate.
• Be transparent and professional in all communication with athletes and parents/guardians.

There are additional resources and recommendations specifically for coaches, parents/guardians and athletes.

US Club Soccer members are also encouraged to frequent usclubsoccer.org/safety, which aggregates a variety of information and resources related to Athlete and Participant Safety/Risk Management such as applicable policies, how to report a concern, reporting obligations pursuant to the SafeSport Act, and more.

A National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, US Club Soccer fosters the growth and development of soccer clubs in order to create the best possible environment for players of all ages.

Anchored by Players First and its five pillars of Club Development, Coaching Development, Player Development, Parent Engagement & Education and Player Health & Safety, US Club Soccer offers registration, league- and cup-based competition platforms, player identification and a variety of other programming, resources and services.

US Club Soccer is sponsored by Nike and supported by LaLiga through a technical partnership.

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