Hosted by LeagueApps | July 2026
The coach is the person who delivers the youth sports experience. Get that hire right and kids feel safe, seen, and want to come back next season. Get it wrong and the damage can be irreversible — for the child, and for the organization that trusted the wrong person. This webinar brought together four youth sports safety leaders, moderated by LeagueApps co-founder Jeremy Goldberg, to break down how organizations select, train, and stand behind the coaches on their fields — and where most programs fall short.
Key topics covered:
Panelists
Jeremy Goldberg — President & Co-Founder, LeagueApps (Moderator) A parent, coach, and longtime leader in the youth sports technology space, Jeremy brings the perspective of both a youth sports operator and a father navigating the gap between school-based safety protections and those in recreational sports.
Kate Quattlebaum — NCSI, now part of LeagueApps. NCSI - an integrated Ankored provider - runs background checks and safety screening for the sports world and works with 48 of the 53 national governing bodies. Kate's team surfaces the records instant checks miss — roughly 2 to 3% of screens come back flagged — so operators can decide who belongs on their field. Her advice for operators: be consistent, and talk about your expectations to parents, not just coaches.
Katey Crouse — League Commissioner, MVP Football. Katie runs a 17-location flag football league for boys and girls, kindergarten through eighth grade, across Southern California. MVP Flag uses Ankored to enforce and automate their safety and compliance policies. She coaches like the kids are her own, watches every game, and enforces the rules for players, parents, and coaches alike. Her advice for operators: give coaches a real person they can reach, and have their backs.
Jason Sachs — CEO, Positive Coaching Alliance. PCA is a national nonprofit that trains coaches in positive youth development so every kid, regardless of circumstance, feels safe, seen, heard, and valued. Jason makes the case that most programs never hand coaches a job description, and that a one-page set of expectations is the cheapest, fastest way to raise the bar. His advice: expectations and over-communication.
Mike Jules — Founder & CEO, GameBreaker. A longtime coach and a head-safety advocate, Mike pioneered soft-shell protective headgear for flag football and other sports. He argues that trust is built in ordinary moments and that safety has to be part of the uniform, not an afterthought. His motto: protect the player, protect the game.