Springboro Lacrosse Club Grievance/Arbitration Procedure
The goal of the Springboro Lacrosse Club is to provide a positive experience for parents and players within the organization. We realize that occasionally an issue may arise which requires the attention of the Lacrosse Board. The following procedure will allow a parent to communicate an issue or concern for review or resolution. Some examples of the need for this policy are; team placement, playing time, disagreements between parents or players. AT NO TIME SHOULD A SAFETY ISSUE BE DELAYED DUE TO THIS POLICY. All safety issues should be handled immediately by club personnel or parents on site.
To ensure the process flows smoothly and fairly, the below procedure should be followed as closely as practical;
1. Player to Coach; It is imperative that your child attempts to express the issue with his or her coach first. Sometimes the issue at hand is a result of miscommunication, which can generally be rectified at the coaches’ level. A face to face meeting is the best course for this initial step. At the youth levels(K-4th grade), parents may need to guide the player. 5th-8th grades should be expected to approach the coach with their concerns.
2. Parent to Coach; If a resolution cannot be satisfactorily agreed upon between a player and coach, the parent may need to intercede. It is understandable that some issues may be open to debate. For that reason, we ask that any communication between the parent and coach be administered using the 24 hour rule. The Board asks that any conversation between the parent and the coach be made 24 hours after discovery of the issue. For example, if an incident, that is not safety related, occurs during a game, i.e. playing time, please wait 24 hours until after the game or practice to make contact with the coach. This period allows all parties to cool off in an attempt to reduce emotions. This step may be completed face to face or via email.
3. Parent to Youth Director; if a parent believes the issue was not satisfactorily resolved, they may contact the appropriate Youth Director(boys’ or girls’) via email, to discuss the issue. Once the Youth Director is made aware of the issue, they will contact the coach and parent, in an attempt to mediate. All parties will be notified within 5 business days with a proposed resolution. This step may be completed face to face; however, an email follow up should be completed to ensure both parties have an understanding regarding the basic issue and resolution.
4. Parent to Board Vice-President; If the parent is not satisfied with the resolution made by the Youth Director, the appropriate Vice-President(boys’ or girls’) should then be notified of the issue. The Vice-President will discuss the issue with the Coach, Youth Director, and Board Members before notifying the parent of the resolution. This notification will be made within 7 business days, via email.
5. President Final Ruling; If the issue arises to a level where the Vice-President is involved, the Board President will be made aware of the report. After conferring with the involved parties, notification will be made to the parent, via email, from either the President or the appropriate Vice-President. The ruling of the Board President will be considered final.
6. Any perceived player safety issues should be directed to the coach immediately. If the coach is unavailable, the concern should be directed through the chain of leadership, as follows; Youth Director, Vice-President, Board President. The contact information for each person may be found under “Contact Us” on www.borolax.org.
7. A coach or individual within the organization, but outside of the above named parties, should not be contacted for arbitration. For example; The High School lacrosse coaching staff should not become involved in issues related to the youth teams and youth team coaches should not be involved in issues relating to the High School program. If a neutral party is required for conflict resolution, that individual may be agreed upon by the parent and Board separately.
Please understand that this arbitration process is a guideline, and all attempts will be made to ensure the process is fair and equitable for all involved. Remember; the youth coaches and board members are all volunteers and are attempting to provide the best experience for over 250 players. While every attempt to rectify an issue will be made to everyone’s satisfaction, the Board President has the final say in matters regarding coaching assignments, player team assignments and parental issues. At no time should a player safety issue be overlooked or delayed.
The overall goal of the program is to develop our youth players into positive representatives for the Springboro Lacrosse Club and Springboro Community. In addition to lacrosse skills, player development includes instilling values such as hard work, dedication and fair play. We, as parents and coaches, are examples for our children and their teammates. The above procedure was developed in an attempt to streamline a process for parents to rectify any grievances. The board will make the final ruling based on the needs of the club and further development of the players.
The Springboro Lacrosse Board