The CoachSafely concept was originally developed and trademarked as a youth sports safety consultancy to national organizations in December 2013, and was later converted into a policy-lobbying nonprofit in August 2017. After the Coach Safely Act was passed in Alabama in April 2018, the CoachSafely Foundation was amended and restated as a 501(c)(3) education, policy and research organization to implement and advance the Law.
Former college football coach Jack Crowe is the Founder and Board Chairman of the CoachSafely Foundation. The concept developed out of his four-year period (2013-2016) consulting with the National Council of Youth Sports Safety, the NCAA, the Aspen Institute, the Andrews Institute, Safe Kids and Children’s of Alabama. With the support of sports medicine professionals, public policymakers and youth sports leaders, the CoachSafely concept evolved from a consultancy into a policy-based organization, lobbying for a mandate that coaches of child athletes (ages 14 and under) be educated in youth sports injury prevention.
Since the passage of the Coach Safely Act in Alabama in April 2018, the Foundation has dedicated its work to designing and producing the online course curriculum and reporting system to meet and exceed the requirements of the law. We are now focused on developing a national platform that we are confident will be considered the injury recognition and prevention standard in youth sports. As of Oct. 1, 2023, four additional states have passed their own CoachSafely laws (Arkansas), introduced such laws (Texas and Tennessee) or passed a Senate resolution (Georgia) encouraging all youth sports coaches to be trained in injury recognition and prevention.
The course curriculum content was holistically developed by experts in their fields who serve as the Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board. The course is distributed nationally by our technology partner, Play Safely Sports.
