A janitor found the hungry boy the next morning. While each of the events had to fall in place for the lock-in to occur, with some added diligence on someone's part including the boy himself, the boy's ordeal could have been avoided at every juncture. Plenty of appropriate contrition has been expressed since the March 15 incident. We agree with the two coaches involved, who were rightly upset about the incident, that coaches must always be responsible for the well-being of their charges. They plan to implement new ways to assure nothing like this happens again.
Coaches have no exclusive corner on the market either.
We would also add to that list scout leaders, youth pastors or adult whose avocation requires him or her to supervise kids. Parents too need to know where and with whom their kids are at any time day or night. While no system of checking is infallible, the series of assumptions above could have had more serious results. We need always err on the side of caution when it comes to the well-being of our children. Finally, the young boy's overnight stay reminds us that our kids too need to be prepared to act.