About Us
The purpose of the Southington Knights is to provide the opportunity for a large number of youngsters to participate in youth flag and travel tackle football and cheer. It is the purpose of the League to instill in the youth of the Town of Southington the principles of good citizenship, good sportsmanship and teamwork through the knowledge of and association with the competitive sport of football and cheer.
All participants in the Southington Knights Travel Football & Cheer (KNIGHTS) organization, including players, parents, coaches, spectators, and referees, are expected to behave according to the Southington Knights Travel Football & Cheer Code of Conduct (available on the KNIGHTS website). Along the same lines, it is expected that any conflicts that arise between participants will be resolved by applying both the letter and the spirit of the Code of Conduct, keeping in mind that the adult members of the program are viewed by the younger members as leaders, role models, and problem solvers.
The KNIGHTS Board recognizes, however, that there may be rare instances when these conflicts cannot be satisfactorily resolved directly by the parties to the dispute or through the informal intervention of a KNIGHTS Board Program Director. For those situations (and it is anticipated that they will very rarely occur), the Board has instituted a formal Grievance Procedure. All members should be aware that the Grievance Procedure IS NOT a substitute for direct conflict resolution between the parties; it is a secondary procedure to be employed only in the unlikely event that the parties cannot amicably and responsibly resolve their dispute through direct communication.
We have designed our Grievance Policy to provide a process whereby an individual can communicate an issue or concern for review and resolution. Our policy was built and will be governed by 3 primary procedural guidelines
1. Grievance/Complaint Procedure
2. KNIGHTS Player Agent
3. Handling of Formal Grievances/Complaints
KNIGHTS PLAYER AGENT
The Player Agent will act as liaison between the E-Board, Head Coaches, parents and players and be the lead in managing grievances submitted pursuant to the Grievance/Complaint Procedure. The Player Agent will act impartially and in the best interest of all parties. The Player Agent will not be a current member of a coaching staff. The Player Agent has the right to use resources necessary, including an impartial committee, to ensure proper handling of grievance.
No grievance will be accepted that seeks to challenge a coaching decision. For purposes of this provision, a coaching decision includes, but is not limited to, travel team selection, playing time, position assignments, starting assignments and football strategy. Playing time guidelines and minimum play policies can be found in our by- laws found in the Document section of the KNIGHTS website.