The Coach Safety Act has passed in Alabama and will now require specific safety training requirements for volunteer coaches and trainers.
All unpaid volunteer coaches or trainers associated with youth athletics for children under the age of 14 who practice or play on public property will be required to complete five training requirements on an annual basis.
The law applies to athletic coaches and trainers statewide for football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball, cheerleading, ice hockey and field hockey, lacrosse and other sports considered high risk of a child or youth sustaining a serious injury.
Coaches must receive training on all of the following areas each year:
- Emergency preparedness, planning and rehearsal for traumatic injuries
- Concussions and head trauma
- Heat and extreme weather-related injury familiarization
- Physical conditioning and training equipment usage
- Heart defects and abnormalities that can lead to sudden cardiac death
Health care professional with acute life support training are exempt from course requirements.
Youth leagues must maintain records of course completion by individual coaches/trainers. The Alabama Department of Public Health houses a database of information submitted by the sports organizations.
You can find more information and a list of resources here. A searchable database of volunteer coaches and the training they have completed can be found here.
Source: Alabama Department of Public Health
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