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Even in the best-run leagues, a few bad incidents can spoil a whole season.
Poor behavior prevents the league from growing and creates a bad reputation for sports in the community.
Consider this: From 2018 to 2021, an estimated 50,000 youth sports referees—roughly 20 percent—quit, as reported by the New York Times.
Why is this happening?
Parents and athletes are passionate about sports. Unfortunately, this passion can sometimes result in poor behavior.
Verbal and physical abuse by parents can sometimes run unchecked. Adults may complain about an official's call or yell at their child during a game. Bad behavior frustrates officials, make it hard to find volunteers, and harms team players.
Is your league prepared for angry parents or poor sportsmanship? Creating a code of conduct for youth sports is a necessity for every organization and can help reduce bad behavior.
In this post, we'll provide some example codes of conduct and tips to enforce the code of conduct at your league or club.
What is a Code of Conduct?
A Code of Conduct (CoC) is a short document that outlines expected behaviors from everyone at your organization. It ensures fair play and reminds parents and coaches to be a positive role model for all kids on the team.
An effective CoC lets you set aside worries about unsportsmanlike conduct and allows you to stay focused on the positives of youth and community sports.
Here’s how to create Code of Conduct:
- Start with an introductory paragraph that explains the purpose of the CoC and why your organization enforces it.
- List out expected behaviors as bullet points.
- Write a section that requires parents, coaches, and athletes to acknowledge the CoC, or explains how they will acknowledge it online before your season.
Here’s an example of a Code of Conduct:
Download the above Code of Conduct as a template. It’ll have all the necessary information to use right away. You can add more points if you’d like.
💡PRO TIP: Use simple, direct language to avoid confusion from parents, athletes, or coaches.
Parent Code of Conduct
Good behavior from parents helps ensure a positive sports experience for every athlete. That’s why you should have separate sections with specific expectations for parents, players, and coaches.
For parents, some CoC points to consider include:
- I will put the emotional and physical well-being of youth participants ahead of a personal desire to win.
- I will respect players, coaches, officials, spectators, and families at all times.
- I will respect the decisions of officials or coaches.
- I will not engage in any violence or verbal threats or use any profanity.
- I will not yell advice to my child during a game.
- I will model good sportsmanship for all youth participants.
- I will not belittle or ridicule anyone involved in a youth sporting event–in public, private, in-person, or online.
- I will do my part to keep sports fun and positive for every youth participant.
Parent behavior trickles down to the players and teams. By starting with the parent code of conduct you'll help to set expectations that everyone at your organization is held to high standards.
In the second section of your Code of Conduct you should list expectations for players.
Athlete Code of Conduct
For youth, you may be able to use some points from the parent code. A few ideas of phrases to add include in the athlete section are:
- I will be a good sport to players, coaches, officials, opponents, and parents at every game and practice, no matter win or lose.
- I will learn the value of commitment by participating in as many practices and games as I can.
- I will encourage my teammates and praise good efforts.
- I will be honest, fair, and respectful to others at all times.
- I will aim to learn all I can from sports.
- I will arrive at practice on time and be ready to dedicate my attention to my coaches.
You can add other points that are specific to your community or sport. Think back on issues you’ve witnessed in your league or community to help shape the right code. You can also ask coaches from your previous season for ideas on what should be in the athlete code of conduct.
Coaches Code of Conduct
Every coach (and assistant coach!) in your organization should be held to a code of conduct as well.
A few things you can include in your Coaches Code of Conduct are:
- I will coach with the goal of creating a positive learning experience for athletes. Winning games is secondary to building a positive youth sports experience for my players, parents of my players, and opposing teams.
- I will follow all safety protocols of the league.
- I will under no circumstances engage in an argument with a referee or official. Any discussions or conversations with officials or referees will be in a respectful tone.
- I will treat opposing coaches and athletes with respect.
I will report any violations of the code of conduct by parents, athletes, or other coaches to the league Board of Directors.
Tips for upholding the rules
1. Require parents and athletes to acknowledge the code during registration
Having codes of conduct for adults and youth is important. But participants must agree to the codes for them to take effect. Make signing off on the CoC an eligibility requirement to play.
Two ways to guarantee parents sign your CoC:
- Include all of your Codes of Conduct in your online registration form so parents must agree when registering.
- Make sure the rules of the game are on your website and accessible at all times. Then, you can make acknowledging and agreeing to adult and youth CoCs a mandatory registration step.
Have coaches review the CoC at a first team meeting as well. If any players or adults don’t have a current CoC on file, you can require them to sign one before participating in practices or games.
2. Be consistent with enforcement
As part of your CoC, you should outline steps the league will take to address violations. You don’t need to be heavy-handed about violations, but do take them seriously when they happen. And be consistent with consequences.
Aim to apply the same remediation processes to everyone. Treat the newest league participant the same as your top fundraiser or star athlete.
For example:
- Issue a verbal warning for first minor offenses. A second offense may merit a written warning.
- Give single or multi-event suspensions for ongoing offenses or serious violations.
- Suspend someone for a season or from the league for truly grave violations.
Guidelines and specific enforcement processes should be detailed on your website or in any other materials you present to parents before the season.
Remember that everyone is human and mistakes happen. Most people will redirect unwelcome behaviors with a verbal reminder of CoC guidelines. Still, having defined escalation procedures for not following Code of Conduct ensures fair treatment for everyone.
🧠 LEARN MORE: Youth Sports Contracts: A Guide for Program Admins
Safeguard your sports organization with a Code of Conduct
Has your interscholastic or youth sports program become too intense and competitive? Or are a few "bad apple" parents ruining the fun for families?
A code of conduct is a bit like an insurance policy. You want to have one in place, but you hope not to have to use it.
When drafting your code of conduct, be as inclusive as possible. Consult board members, parents, coaches, and officials to get suggestions and ideas to improve behavior at your organization.
