Professional boundaries can sometimes be seen as a set of rules designed simply to prevent things from going wrong. But when they are understood and applied well, they can do much more: building trust, protecting everyone involved and helping create sporting environments where people feel safe and supported.
That was the focus of London Sport’s recent lunchtime session on professional boundaries, hosted by Helena Keenan, Sport Welfare Manager at London Sport, and attended by coaches, welfare officers and sport leaders from across a range of sports.
One of the most important areas discussed was the power imbalance that can exist between an athlete and a coach, instructor or other trusted adult. Athletes often depend on coaches for knowledge, opportunities and development, and younger participants in particular can move quickly into relationships built on trust. The responsibility for maintaining appropriate boundaries therefore sits with the person in the position of greater power.
The conversation also looked at how risk can change as young athletes get older rather than simply disappear. Helena introduced the idea of adultification, where children or young people are treated as more mature or responsible than their developmental age warrants. In sport, increasing expectations around training, competition and responsibility can make this particularly important to recognise.
Good professional boundaries do not mean creating distant relationships. They help make expectations clear. This can include using age-appropriate communication, being transparent about decisions, maintaining appropriate contact through social media and messaging, gaining consent around physical contact and avoiding situations where an adult is alone with a child.
Codes of conduct can provide an important framework, but the discussion highlighted that they need to be part of everyday club culture rather than documents that are signed once and forgotten. Coaches, volunteers, participants, and parents should understand expectations, and coaches should regularly discuss and reinforce them through practice.
Feedback from the session reflected the value of revisiting best practice, hearing perspectives from across different sports and thinking more closely about the situations young athletes may face as they develop.
Perhaps the clearest practical takeaway came from Paul, a club welfare officer and coach, who described how his club encourages people to raise anything they are uncertain about as early as possible.
His advice was simple: “If in doubt, speak up.”
Creating an environment where people feel comfortable speaking up can help concerns surface earlier, support learning across a club and make professional boundaries something everyone understands and takes responsibility for.
