Statement of Intent
Saline FC is committed to providing a caring, friendly, and safe environment for all participants so they can learn the game of soccer and the skills necessary to participate in the game in a fun, positive, and secure atmosphere. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at the Saline Area Soccer Association (Saline FC), on and off the field. Parents and players must be confident in knowing that the Saline FC environment is free from harassment, violence, intolerance, and intimidation all of which are forms of bullying. If bullying does occur, all parents and players should be able to openly communicate the situation and know that any and all incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.
Definition of Bullying
Bullying is deliberately hurting a person or persons either physically, verbally, psychologically, or socially. It is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance (e.g. physical, mental, social, or financial). The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying can be carried out by one person or several people who are actively or passively involved. In a sports context, bullying can take many forms including but not limited to:
● Player to Player
● Parent to Player
● Coach to Player
● Parent to Coach
● Player, Parent, or Coach to Referee
Bullying may use one or several types of bullying to include the following noninclusive list:
● Physical pushing, kicking, hitting, punching, or any use of violence
● Verbal teasing, name calling, inappropriate sexual comments, and taunting
● Social excluding, alienating, ignoring, spreading rumors
● Psychological ganging up, preventing a person from going somewhere, taking a person’s possession, being hostile
Procedures
1. Parents or players should report bullying incidents to the Head Coach, Assistant Coach, Team Manager, or any Saline FC Board Member. In cases of bullying, the Saline FC representative who was contacted shall submit a written report within 24 hours outlining the reported bullying behavior to the Saline FC Board of Directors or a designated committee.
2. In all cases of reported bullying, parents of the player who was bullied shall be informed immediately and may be asked to meet with the respective Coach, Director of Travel, Director of Rec, or the Director of Coaching and Player Development to discuss the incident as determined by the Board. In all cases, strict confidentiality shall be maintained.
3. The bullying behavior must be investigated and the bullying stopped immediately. The parents of any player who is reported to be bullying will be contacted within three days of the reported incident by the respective Coach, Director of Travel, Director of Rec, or the Director of Coaching and Player Development to discuss the incident. Depending on the severity of the situation, the parents may be asked to meet with representatives of the Saline FC Board of Directors or a designated committee.
Consequences
1. An attempt will be made to encourage the bully or bullies to modify their behavior for their benefit, for the benefit of the person bullied, and other team members. The bully or bullies will be asked to apologize to those players affected, including team members and coaches. An attempt will be made by the Coach, Team Manager, or parent to reconcile the situation between the players. The bully will be placed on a probationary period which will be monitored by the Saline FC Board of Directors or a designated committee. Any other incidents of bullying will result in other consequences or disciplinary alternatives as deemed appropriate by the Saline FC Board of Directors or a designated committee to include temporary suspension from all Saline FC activities.
2. For a second offense, the player will be suspended for one week (to include all training and games).
3. For a third offense the player will be suspended for no less than one year from the date of the infraction and will be banned from all future Saline FC activities during the period of suspension.
Saline Area Soccer Association (Saline FC)
Revised August 2016