Soccer league tightened screening process after coach dismissal

Three months after firing coach Gregory Vance Tatton in 2007 for “inappropriate interactions” with players on his under-17 girls team, the Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association added a mandatory fingerprint check to its risk management program
Tatton, 43, had been under investigation by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit since leaving the county in early 2008 and was arrested last week in West Hollywood and charged with having molested a 15-year-old player on his team. He was transferred to Sonoma County Jail on Monday, and released Tuesday after posting $150,00 bail. He will face 10 felony counts when arraigned on April 13.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of the 1,200 Sonoma Valley children who sign up to play soccer with us each year,” said Vikki Griggs-Demmin, vice president of the Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association, who added that rumors about Tatton had begun to circulate in mid-2007. The concerns were nothing specific but rather in regards to “his unusual hold over his team,” she said. League officials were unsettled to the point that they began actively looking for something factual, a violation of league rules for example, to force Tatton from his position.
That came in November 2007 when Tatton was arrested for tampering with a vehicle registration tag, with alleged intent to defraud. Parents’ concerns then broadened to include “rooming arrangements at out-of-town tournaments,” according to a California Youth Soccer Association chronology.
In December 2007 an emergency order of protection was served on Tatton. He was then banned for life from participation in all CYSA activities, “due to his inappropriate interactions with players younger than 18 years of age on multiple occasions.” The team, which included Tatton’s daughter, was disbanded.
The episode lead the league to revaluate its screening procedures. “There was a flaw in the previous system,” admits Griggs-Demmin. “We needed to institute something more foolproof.”
As part of its own security screening process, the California Youth Soccer Association runs background checks only on random or select applicants, a protocol that had applied to the Sonoma Valley league.
In March 2008, the SVYSA itself hired a firm to fingerprint all coaches, assistant coaches, managers, and directors. “We  
have a Risk Management Coordinator who is informed when someone’s fingerprints bring up any conviction for a 
serious crime or any arrest for a felony,” according to Griggs-Demmin.
She also said there has been a rededication to “common sense” rules such as players never being alone with an adult, no private meetings or meals and no text messaging. “We rely on parents a great deal,” said Griggs-Demmin, to make sure every interaction is appropriate.”