Code of Conduct

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• Remember that although children play organised soccer they are not miniature professionals.
• Don’t  place excessive pressure on children to perform to unrealistically high  expectations. Children play soccer to develop their skills, to have fun  and enjoy the game.
• Be on your  best behaviour and lead by example. The behaviour of a team’s supporters  will often be remembered long after the result of the game. Be  remembered for the right reasons.
• Applaud good play, sportsmanship and best effort by the visiting team as well as your own.
• Welcome and respect all your teams’ opponents. Without them there would be no match.
• Condemn the use of violence in all forms at every opportunity.
• Verbal  abuse of players, match officials or opposing supporters cannot be  accepted in any shape or form. Players or match officials should never  be regarded as fair targets for ignorant or abusive behaviour.

Players code of Conduct

Children in Lucan United Football Club are entitled to:
Be safe
Be treated with dignity, sensitivity and respect
Participate in soccer on an equal basis, appropriate to their ability and stage of development.
Be happy, have fun and enjoy soccer
Make a complaint in an appropriate way and have it dealt with through a proper and effective complaints procedure
Be afforded appropriate confidentiality
Be listened to and to be believed

Children should also be encouraged to realise that they also have responsibilities to treat other children, fellow players,
coaches and volunteers with the same degree of fairness and respect.
In this regard children in Lucan United Fc should undertake to:
• play fairly, do their best and have fun
• be on their best behaviour at all times
• abide by all club rules
• make high standards of Fair Play the standard others want to follow
• respect opponents, they are not the enemy, they are partners in a sporting event

• give opponents a hand if they are injured, put the ball out of play so they can get attention

• accept apologies from opponents when they are offered
• respect fellow team members and support them both when they do well and when things go wrong
• be modest in victory and be gracious in defeat

Children in Lucan United Fc should not:
• cheat
• use abusive language, or argue with, the referee, officials, team mates or opponents
• use violence, use physical contact only when it is allowed within the rules
• bully
• tell lies about adults or other children
• spread rumours
• keep secrets about any person who may have caused them harm
• behave in any manner that may bring the name of Lucan into disrepute

In Lucan we want children in to have fun and develop skills in a safe and Fair Play environment where standards of behaviour
are just as important as winning.
• Promoting the development of skills as opposed to winning at all costs
• Emphasising and praising effort
• Being realistic with our expectations
• Being aware of children?s feelings
• Teaching players to respect different cultures
• Teaching players that standards of behaviour are just as important as winning

Parents, coaches and administrators all have an important role to play in promoting good practice in children’s sport.
They should have, as their first priority, the children’s safety and enjoyment of the sport.
Fair play is the guiding principle of the FAI.
Children are encouraged to:
• Do their best put in their best effort.
• Improve and develop their skills.
• Make friends.
• Play by the rules.
• Appreciate/accept everyone in the group, regardless of ability, race, religion, gender etc.

Parents / guardians play an important role in promoting children’s happiness and success in football and sport in general.
Parental expectations and behaviour have a significant bearing on  children’s attitude and behaviour while participating in football.
Parents / guardians need to be aware of why children want to play football. Children want to learn new skills, make new
friends, be part of a group, to win and be successful, experience challenges, excitement and action.
While winning is important, it must be remembered that winning at all costs does not meet the needs of players.
Results are not necessarily a good indicator of coaching effectiveness or ability, the improvement level of players and
their level of enjoyment is.

Support and encouragement from parents / guardians will contribute to children having:• A sense of personal achievement.
• An enjoyment of soccer.
• Improved physical fitness.
• Higher self esteem.
• A greater level of skill.
• Improved social skills

It is important to:
• Encourage but not force children to be active.
• Know when he / she is ready to play.
• Encourage healthy lifestyle habits.
• Attend training and games where possible.
• Promote and teach

FAIR PLAY
• Teach your child to treat referees, other players, coaches, officials  and spectators with respect regardless of race, creed, colour, sex or  ability.
• Help children to set realistic targets.
• Help children with decision making.
Parents/Guardians should not:
• Ignore or dismiss complaints or concerns expressed by a child which relate to his/her involvement in soccer.
• Ridicule or shout at a child for losing a game or making a mistake.
• Treat any club as a child minding service.
• Take safety for granted.
• Put undue pressure on any child to please or perform well.

Parents / Guardians should never:
• Insult players or club personnel.
• Argue with, or shout abuse at officials and they should actively discourage children or young players from doing likewise.
• Suggest or encourage cheating, aggressive or "dirty" play.
• Placing undue or inappropriate criticism on a player, causing the player unnecessary or unhealthy levels of stress.
• Behave with physical or verbal aggression towards another person (actually use force or threaten the use of force).
• Engage in any "harassment" type of behaviour.

In promoting “Football for Fun” everyone involved in the organisation of football should:
• Encourage participation and fun.
• Promote the development of skills as opposed to winning at all costs.
• Emphasise and praise effort.
• Act as a good role model.
• Insist on Fair Play
• Be realistic with expectations.
• Be aware of children’s feelings.
• Teach players to respect different cultures

Fair play is the guiding principle of the FAI Code of Ethics.
In taking this approach children are encouraged to:
• Do their best put in their best effort.
• Improve and develop their skills.
• Make friends.
• Play by the rules.
• Appreciate/accept everyone in the group, regardless of
ability, race, religion, gender etc.

Coaches/volunteers should
never:
• Exert undue influence over a participant in order to obtain
personal benefit or reward.
• Share a room with a young person alone on away trips.
• Engage in rough physical games, sexually provocative games
or allow or engage in
inappropriate touching of any kind, and/or make sexually suggestive comments about or to a child.
• Use any form of corporal punishment or physical force on a young person.
• Take measurements or engage in certain types of fitness testing without the presence of another adult.
• Spend excessive amounts of time with children away from others.
• Take sessions alone
• Take children to their homes.
• Take children on journeys alone in their care

In promoting “Sport for Fun” coaches should:
• Encourage participation and fun.
• Promote the development of skills as opposed to winning at all costs.
• Emphasise and praise effort.
• Act as a good role model.
• Actively discourage children/young players from abusing referees,  officials, team mates or opponents (take off offending players).
• Insist on
FAIR PLAY (take off offending Players)
• Be realistic with your expectations.
• Be aware of children’s feelings.
• Teach players to respect different cultures.

Safety
Coaches have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the players with  whom they work as far as possible within the limits of their control.  Therefore, coaches should seek to create a safe and enjoyable  environment in which to play and train.
In this respect:
• Regular safety checks should be carried out in relation to premises, training facilities and equipment.
• Parents/guardians should be informed of the starting and finishing times of training sessions and matches.
• A first aid kit should be available at all training sessions /matches and injuries should be Reported to the club
• Parents/Guardians should be notified of injuries/illness which their  children incur while participating in any football activity a
positive approach to the involvement of children in sport.

Responsibility to Report
Any person, who has concerns about a child’s welfare or who suspects  that a child is being abused, or is at risk of abuse, has a  responsibility to report their concerns to the Health Board or Gardai.

Mobile Phones
Mobile phones are often given to children for security, enabling parents to keep in touch and make sure they are safe.
However such technology has also allowed an increase in direct personal contact with young people, in some cases used to
cross personal boundaries and cause harm. Within clubs there is a need to encourage responsible and secure use of mobile
phones.
In this respect Coaches are advised to:
• Use group texts for communication among athletes and teams and inform parents of this at the start of the season
• It is not appropriate to have constant communication for individual  athletes • Don’t use the phone in certain locations; inappropriate use  of your camera phone may cause upset or offence to another person, e.g.  changing rooms