Sure, you can read a wrestling club owner’s or coach’s profile on their web site, and scroll through their high school or college wrestling experiences as credentials for running a club. But in the infamous words from the classic movie Marathon Man, “Is it safe?”Are credentials all you really want to know about them? How about this one: do they have a criminal background?

The vast majority of wrestling coaches are men and women with strong technical skills, good hearts, high ethical standards, and morally grounded behaviors. But as with any sport, there are exceptions. As parents or guardians of youth wrestlers, responsible parents can breathe easier by knowing that a reputable institution is regularly checking to see.

One way – in the sport of wrestling – to ensure each and every adult connected to a club your considering has no criminal past is to eliminate clubs that do not have USA Wrestling affiliation or cannot show that they conduct routine background checks on adults in their clubs. USA Wrestling requires every coach they certify to complete a background check each year. The organization maintains a list of adults who are no longer allowed to have access to any club it sanctions across the US.

In USA Wrestling’s own words, “This means that no person ineligible for USA Wrestling membership, including, but not limited to, interim suspensions, temporary suspensions and permanent suspension from USA Wrestling, US Center for SafeSport, USOPC, USADA, registered sex offenders, may be associated with the organization or its activities in any way during all club activities (to include non-USA Wrestling events). A USA Wrestling Chartered Club provides an opportunity for members to practice, train, compete and enjoy amateur wrestling in a safe environment.”

Parents and guardians should ask leaders of prospective clubs if they are sanctioned by USA Wrestling (which would include annual background checks and SafeSport course completion). If not, ask why not, and ask what other third-party processes are in place at their clubs to protect kids. If the answer is “nothing,” you’ve got an important piece of information to make your decision if that club is right for your kid(s), and you.