“As someone who has been a loud critic of USASF as it relates to protecting child athletes and the recent increase in annual fees, I want to share something on my heart. I’ve personally seen a big change within the organization in relationship to education/athlete safety, and I’m a believer in it is never too late to do better. We have just completed our safe@allstar training and certification process, and there are some things to share.

1. This training represents the old saying that “an ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure”. It is a huge opportunity for every gym. Take the time now to help prevent something terrible happening to one of your kids, whether inside your gym or in some other environment.

2. The certifications for your athletes/staff/parents are included in your USASF membership, no additional charge.

3. The certification process is so comprehensive and so easy, gyms of all sizes need not be intimidated.

4. We chose to train our athletes as part of their normal Sunday practice last week, and our parents all trained from home. I can’t tell you how amazing and age appropriate the content is for each viewing group. I was a little concerned initially that the content may be too aggressive for kids, but that is not the case at all. Here is a sample of some training https://safeatallstar.com/lexis-crush-maintaining-athlete-to-coach-boundaries-for-parents%e2%80%8b/

5. I was a little surprised/HORRIFIED by how many of our athletes needed this training. You could see the light bulbs going off in their heads and some of their questions and answers made me realize that actual athlete level training was desperately needed (we can’t assume parents have the education or that they are doing this work at home).

6. These tools not only protect your kids, but there is so much content to keep your staff protected. How many gyms have failed their coaches by not teaching them basic do’s and don’ts. I feel confident that this training would be very uncomfortable to any pervert in a gym, and many may “self-select” out of a program who takes the certification and brings it to life.

7. The content for gym owners is fantastic. No matter how small your gym is, you will have top notch training and guidelines to implement immediately. There can be some legal ramifications to how you screen for employment and their hiring considerations information was incredibly insightful.

8. Keep the safe@allstar website on your phone as a quick link. It is the place for anyone to report any concerning abuse/misconduct issue that falls outside of going directly to the police. I had a long talk with Ken Newman (the CEO of safe@allstar) and this guy is the “real deal”.

     I could go on and on, but I hope this will encourage you to take the time and get your certification, I’m so glad we did! #All4Safe@allstar #iadmittheincrementalfeewasworthit. Last but not least, I want to give special thanks to Robin Galik, Jaime Sterling, and Ken Newman for being so supportive, and for being one part of the change our industry so desperately needs.”