Would this be considered inappropriate relationship between coach/athlete?

My sons high school coach is now my daughter in law. I love her and my grandson very much.

A 26 yr old having an affair with a 16 yr old may be illegal and inappropriate, but I don't consider it predatory nor consider him a pedofile.

Big Eggos wrote:

A 26 yr old having an affair with a 16 yr old may be illegal and inappropriate, but I don't consider it predatory nor consider him a pedofile.

Non predatory? In the relationship between a coach and an athlete I completely disagree.

High school girls can be very influenced by a coach, and often want to be the most recognized on the team or get the most of their coach's attention. (Can be true for boys too). It would be very easy for a coach to use his position to coerce a girl into inappropriate relations with him, in which case it would not be truly consentual.

I had a close relationship with my h.s. coach, as did many runners on the team, both male and female. But there was always a definite line where he did not get too personally involved and he never tried to talk to the girls in private places or ask them to give him personal attention- even when one of them dated his son.

If a fellow coach or an athlete "feels" that something isn't right with a coach-student relationship, then it's worth investigating.

Thanks again for all of the input. I know I need to talk to him. I've just been putting it off because I didn't want to blow everything out of proportion. But I see that even if nothing really 'wrong' is going on, it's still inappropriate and probably unethical in regards to the coach/athlete relationship. Being a mentor or a role model is one thing I think a coach SHOULD be. I can even see being an adult version of a friend. But regardless, there still needs to be some form of professionalism. A male coach does not need to be spending late hours talking to athletes on the phone or the Internet or spending personal time with them.

Thanks again for your advice.