Bullying

Bullying can happen anywhere and the dynamics can be complex. In order to put preventative measures in place for bullying or to tackle incidents effectively, it is important you and your staff know what to look out for that will indicate clear signs that bullying may be occurring. Bullying can occur in many forms such as:

• Verbally such as name calling and harassing. Verbal bullying can be easy to detect as long as staff is paying attention to how the kids are talking to each other. If they don’t overhear the verbal bullying or if it is not reported to them, they may still be able to notice it happened in the reaction or body language the child is displaying. If a child is not acting their normal self, make sure to address it and not ignore it.
  
  
• Physically such as hitting or pushing. Physical bullying is the easiest to recognize but can still go unnoticed if it happens behind closed doors, like in a restroom area or area outside the field or court. Pay attention when kids put their hands on each other and have rules in place to prevent it.
  
  
• Within relationships that include rumors and excluding. This type of bullying is the hardest to detect and generally may take a long time to get the root cause of the child’s issues with each other. With the older kids also on phones and social media this could go far beyond sports so it is important to communicate these issues with parents so it can get resolved and not disrupt the team. If you hear a rumor or see a group become argumentative and dysfunctional shut it down immediately and continue on to find out the cause of their problems before it gets worse.

When you detect bullying, it is important you act immediately and take the following steps:

1. Separate the participants so the bullying stops
2. Remove them from the rest of the group
3. Respond firmly and appropriately
4. Make sure everyone is safe and be calm
5. Reaffirm the behavior isn’t tolerated
6. Assist the students separately to work it out
7. Give praise and show appreciation for better behavior
8. Report the incident to parents and discipline if it continues
9. Follow up and check in

Avoid doing the following:

• Don’t be aggressive
• Don’t give a lecture
• Don’t ignore it
• Don’t ask them to work it out themselves
• Don’t try to handle in a group setting in front of other kids that are not involved.

Before you have a bullying incident within your league or team you can take preventative measures to curtail it from ever happening such as:

• Discuss it with participants prior to the season.
• Have rules and policies in place for bullying and ensure parents and kids know it is not tolerated.
• Have a reporting process in place for participants and parents.
• Incorporate teambuilding within each team.
• Establish a culture of inclusion for all participants.
• Communicate with parents on policies, incidents, and any action that was taken
• Train staff and coaches properly on how to handle bullying and the role they play as a youth mentor

Bullying needs to be taken seriously as severe incidents can have long term effects on the child. You may run into many more minor incidents that may not reach the level of bullying at the start, but if they are not addressed and resolved it can quickly become more harmful to the child so pay attention, especially if it’s recurring. Creating an inclusive environment, educating staff, coaches and parents, communicating properly, and being quick to respond to incidents will greatly reduce bullying and ensure you have an incident free program.