Recreation policies in Gainesville and Hall County now prohibit anyone with a history of serious crimes from coaching those younger than 18.

The county's Parks and Leisure Services implemented criminal background checks last fall as part of its application process.

The agency processes applications from "head coaches, assistants and anyone working with kids," said Bob Brady, youth athletic coordinator for the county.

Melvin Cooper, director of Gainesville's Park and Recreation Agency, said it's been almost 16 years since the city recognized the checks as an important part of its application process.

"When red flags come up, we go through our risk management department to make sure we get proper guidance" before disqualifying applicants, Cooper said.

According to city and county policies, murder, aggravated assault and sex crimes are among the crimes that automatically disqualify an application.

"We have never gotten anything bad back for a volunteer coach," Cooper said.

During the 2000-01 school year, Raymond Woodring, 57, coached a 9-year-old girl's basketball team in the county.

He was picked by White Sulphur Elementary School's Booster Club in spite of previous convictions for voluntary manslaughter, at least three aggravated assaults and kidnapping.

At the time, Woodring's daughter was a student at the school.

It is not known if the county was aware of his background. Brian Woodring, a relative of Raymond Woodring, was reported to be the booster club's president. Brian Woodring could not be reached for comment.

On March 23, Raymond Woodring was arrested for the murder of his wife, Wanda Corbin, 48.

According to Stephanie Gilbert of the Hall County Sheriff's Office, applicants are screened through the Georgia Crime Information Center, a criminal database with more than 2.5 million records. GCIC was established in 1973.

A spokeswoman for the Gainesville Police Department said similar efforts are made for the city.

The GCIC scans Georgia records, but does not look for criminal convictions in other states, said spokeswomen for both police agencies.

Cooper said the city has not had to deal with a history such as Woodring's.

"Most of our parents have kids in the programs," Cooper said. " ... I can't recall ever having to turn down a volunteer coach."

It is not known if other coaches with criminal records participated in recreation programs prior to the implementation of mandatory background checks.

Sam Trager, Hall's director of human resources, said the checks are designed to keep criminal backgrounds off the playing field.

"That's the exact reason we started the process," he said.