Our Why

This is why it can't wait.

Every headline below represents a child who trusted an adult on the sidelines. Many of those adults were never screened.

This page discusses abuse in youth sports. Support resources are listed at the bottom.

The Problem Is Not Rare

~11%of athletes report unwanted sexual contact during their sport (U.S. Center for SafeSport, 2024)

44%of non-consensual sexual touching was by coaches or assistant coaches, the most prevalent source (SafeSport, 2024)

90%of youth coaches are volunteers, the group least likely to be screened (Project Play)

1 in 5children experiences sexual abuse before age 18 (NCYS)

<50%of youth leagues require background checks before adults coach children

0national laws require screening and training for every volunteer youth coach

The Loophole

They get away with it because no one checks.

Predators look for access to children with minimal oversight. Volunteer youth coaching is unpaid, understaffed, and rarely screened. It is the easiest door in the building.

The Fix

Close the door.

A verified background check and safety training for every coach, every season, before they ever step on a sideline. That is the entire standard, and it is the one thing every case below was missing.

In the News

It's happening right now.

Recent reporting on volunteer youth coaches accused of harming children. Each card links to the original article.

KPLC News · Louisiana · May 2026

Volunteer coach federally charged in child-exploitation case

Prosecutors say he posed online as a woman to exploit boys over an extended period. He was a volunteer coach the whole time.

WFAA · Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Volunteer baseball coach arrested on child sex-abuse charges

Charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was removed only after a child spoke up, not because anyone had checked.

Texarkana Today · Arkansas · 2025

Volunteer coach charged across four counties; nine alleged victims

He moved league to league. A portable, verified credential could have flagged him after the first report, not the ninth.

Honolulu Civil Beat · Hawaii · 2026

A volunteer coach, no background check, and a cost that lasted 50 years

A $400,000 settlement for abuse from the 1970s, with no evidence any background check was ever run. The harm never expires.

KUOW · Seattle NPR · 2024

A coach barred from the district was still allowed to coach children

His background was flagged, he was banned from district schools, and he kept coaching anyway. Oversight laws have gaps a universal standard would close.

This is preventable.

Screening, safety training, and age-based education for every coach, every season. Help make it the standard everywhere.

Get PTC Approved Fund the Mission

If you or a child needs help: RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, 800-656-4673. Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 800-422-4453. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.