US Lacrosse is adding a new benefit to all adult coach memberships in order to further enhance player safety.
Effective August 1, 2019, all adult coach memberships will require online Abuse Prevention training. This benefit will be provided at no additional cost to members.
A coach who fails to complete the online training within 10 days of a membership purchase or renewal will have their membership suspended and will not have the insurance coverage benefit.
The online Abuse Prevention training strengthens US Lacrosse’s commitment to protect athletes from potential abuse within the sports environment. It now supplements the mandatory national background screening which went into effect in 2018 and has been completed by over 27,000 US Lacrosse coach members.
US Lacrosse has partnered with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, an independent nonprofit committed to ending all forms of abuse in sport, for the online training service.
The online training consists of three learning modules that provide in-depth information about sexual misconduct awareness, mandatory reporting, and emotional & physical misconduct. On average, each module takes 30 minutes to complete.
All three modules must be completed to meet the US Lacrosse membership requirement. Completion of the training course will be reflected on a coach’s membership account. Annual re-training will be provided through a 20-minute refresher tutorial.
Non-coach members, including officials and program leaders, may also choose voluntarily to participate in the online training, free of charge. The training is available to any US Lacrosse member, age 18 and older, and can be accessed by using the My Account feature on uslacrosse.org.
The online training requirement is driven in part by the SafeSport Authorization Act, passed in 2018 by Congress. The law seeks to protect youth athletes by expanding existing mandated reporter laws, requiring completion of abuse awareness and prevention training, and instilling policies that limit one-on-one interactions.
The paramount principal for US Lacrosse is that any and all forms of physical and sexual abuse and/or misconduct are strictly prohibited.
“We have a duty to lead on this critically important issue,” said Steve Stenersen, president and CEO at US Lacrosse. “Adding mandatory background screenings for member coaches, as we did last year, and now introducing required educational resources to properly train stakeholders, are essential steps to establishing the safest possible environment for participants in our sport.”
Launched 2013, the US Lacrosse SafeSport initiative is designed to provide safeguards against all forms of physical and sexual abuse or misconduct. As part of that initiative, US Lacrosse developed a Standard for Athlete Safety & Protection, outlining both prohibited and prescribed conducts and behavior guidelines for all adult members of US Lacrosse who interact with youth.
