S4A Team Program.
An Amateur Sports Program That IS Safe for Athletes
Overview
Sports teams that have policies and procedures in place allow for concerns of abuse to be addressed in a timely fashion. The #1 problem for athlete abuse is figuring out who has the POWER and JURISDICTION to do something about it. Becoming a Safe4Athletes team puts the power back in the hands of the athletes. It is very important for every team to emphasize to their coaches, athletes, employees, volunteers, and parents that athlete safety and welfare policies do not imply distrust and are not intended to portray coaches or others as “villains.” Similarly, athlete safety and welfare policies restrict the actions and behaviors of coaches and others in order to maximize the possibility that we will be able to protect program participants from the harm caused by one person with malicious intent.
S4A Team Model
To ensure integrity, a Safe4Athletes Team commits to doing four things:

Adoption
ADOPT POLICIES that (a) require criminal background checks for coaches, volunteers, and others before they are permitted to work directly with children and (b) clearly define prohibited conduct in a detailed way, from poor instruction or supervision practices and bullying behaviors, to more serious allegations of professional misconduct such as sexual harassment, or physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Coaches, employees, and volunteers sign a code of conduct agreement acknowledging having read and understanding their obligation to adhere to the policy.

Appointment of Athlete
Welfare Advocates (AWA)
APPOINT two parents or other volunteers as ATHLETE WELFARE ADVOCATES (AWA) TO ASSIST TEAM ATHLETES. Athletes are often afraid of confronting more powerful coaches or even their own parents when faced with a distressing situation. The AWA distributes educational materials and invites athletes to call or email to schedule a confidential conversation if they need help handling any situation that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Athlete Welfare Advocate
As a Safe4Athletes Team, the coaches, amateur athletes, and parents are all interconnected with a Safe4Athletes Athlete Welfare Advocate (AWA) at the core, who is on-site working to ensure accountability of the program. When a challenge is presented, the Athlete Welfare Advocate works with S4A’s internal staff to remedy the situation on a local, state, and national level efficiently to defer further escalation.
The role of the AWA is to act on behalf of the athlete to ensure the athlete’s safety, always considering the imbalance of power between participants and adults (coaches and others) who are in positions of authority, NOT a person whose role is to protect the team or its employees. S4A prefers to have two Athlete Welfare Advocates on-site, giving athletes a choice of a person they are most comfortable in speaking with about sensitive topics. The team should consider having both a male and female AWA.

Integrity Guidelines for an Athlete Welfare Advocate
- Child-Friendly, Victim-Friendly Listener. The AWA should be someone who understands “child friendly” communication and is approachable.
- Confidant. If the athlete wishes to have his or her name kept confidential, then only the AWA knows his/her identity, and the AWA represents the athlete in any meetings with the Fact Finder.
- Independent. In order to maintain a position of independence, the AWA should not be a member of the board of directors of the team or serve the team in any other capacity.
AWAs are important people for athletes to rely on when they need help thinking through and talking about stressful situations. Teams should care about the safety and welfare of all participants and hope that any athlete who may be the victim of abuse — whether it is sexual, bullying, harassment or other improper misconduct by a coach, peer, parent, volunteer or staff member — feels safe enough to speak to an AWA. With this athlete assistance focus in mind, the AWA must be open to gaining the confidence of the athlete and developing a trusting relationship that will encourage factual, honest, and open dialogue. The AWA needs to keep in mind that they are the advocate for the athlete and their purpose is to hear the concern and then act on behalf of the athlete by working with others on the team to develop a resolution.
Do you want to become an Athlete Welfare Advocate or want to become a Safe4Athletes Team?
Pricing + Value
Local-Based Policies and Procedures for all types of sports and teams to adopt
Pricing tiers based on team* size
Implementation fee/maintenance Fee (Yearly) $500.00 per team (regardless of size)100 Athletes and Below
$15 per athlete101-250 Athletes
$12 per athleteAbove 250 Athletes
$10 per athlete*Colleges and high schools (Public or Private) structured pricing based on request.
MATERIALS
Safe4Athletes has policies, procedures, and educational materials that teams can use to implement a Safe4Athletes program.
USE OF SAFE4ATHLETES LOGO AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT STATEMENT
Teams that adopt these policies and procedures are asked to use the Safe4Athletes logo and advocacy statement on their website and printed materials.

