Parent’s Procedure for registering a complaint about a Mason Lacrosse Club (MLC) Coach.
As a member of the MLC, each player has the right to fair and equal treatment from his/her coaches. When a player and subsequently that players parent, feels that he/she is being treated unfairly the issue must be resolved as quickly as possible. Please be advised, equal treatment does not mean equal playing time in games although coaches are encouraged to come up with a system that promotes this as much as possible especially on all B, C, & D (developmental level) teams.
The first option we ask parents to exercise is to speak with the coach being sure to attempt to schedule this time in advance by use of email or phone. Each parent who has an issue should expect a response back from her/his coach within 48 hours of their notification as to when a meeting can take place if that is necessary. Please do not approach coaches before or after games or practices, it is their time to be supervising all players and either preparing for an event or cleaning up after the event. This is also the policy of Mason High School with regards to parent/coach interaction.
If your communication or meeting with the coach does not provide a satisfactory solution to the issue, you have the right to elevate the issue to the MLC Board. Should you feel the need to do this, you should email the Club President and include in your summary of the situation the details of your conversation/emails with the coach in question. This notification should be received by the Club President within 14 days of the incident which implies that the coach has given you a timely response per the first option above. If this is not the case, please note the timeline in your correspondence.
Video evidence is accepted with one caution; video can often misrepresent a situation when it is cut up. If you intend to submit video, we ask that you submit a copy of the entire event tape so we can witness the events surrounding your particular incident. Sending us a 30 second clip of the incident is not always helpful to obtaining a complete and accurate view of the event in question.
When MLC receives a complaint about a coach, within fourteen (14) days of the incident, the MLC Board will initiate a review process that includes:
- Gather information and document eyewitness accounts of the event(s) that took placefrom interested parties involved to determine if a violation of the letter or intent of the Coaches’ Code of Ethics Pledge per US Lacrosse has occurred. This may include the site supervisor, game officials, other coaches, parents and children.
- Require the coach to attend a meeting with the Club President to address the complaint and to offer his/her side of the incident. This meeting will be documented.
- The MLC Board has the authority to determine the severity of the situation and whether or not the affected coach has violated the expected behaviors that comprise the US Lacrosse Code of Conduct and/or the Mission Statement or policies set forth by the Mason Lacrosse Club Board.
- The Club President, after approval from Mason Lacrosse Club Board, has the authority to recommend and enforce an appropriate range of disciplinary actions up to and including suspension of coaching duties.
- If the Mason Lacrosse Club decides to revoke a coach’s coaching duties, the coach will be notified in writing after the MLC Board has met and that coach will be asked to cease coaching his/her assigned team.
Policy adopted by the Mason Lacrosse Club Board
February/2008
Revised March 4, 2009
