The Law

“As governor of Alabama, I know that sports are important to the people of our great state. Each year, thousands of children play sports for their enjoyment, but youth sports injuries are not fun, and they have become far too common. Trained coaches can prevent or reduce the impact of an injury. That’s why I signed the Coach Safely Act. It mandates that all community coaches of children ages 14 and under be trained in injury recognition and prevention. Let’s keep Alabama’s children safe and in the game.”

- Kay Ivey, 54th Governor of Alabama

ADVOCACY. POLICY. HISTORY.

The CoachSafely® Foundation made history in 2018 when its advocacy, designed to create a new standard in youth sports safety, led to a breakthrough in public policy. The Coach Safely Act (Alabama Code 2018-496) – passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey – became the first law in the United States requiring youth coaches to be trained in a comprehensive course of injury recognition and prevention to protect their athletes.

The Foundation created the CoachSafely training course, which has been approved by the Alabama Department of Public Health, to meet the law’s mandate. While focusing on education and research to train youth coaches to keep their players safe, the Foundation continues to advocate for similar legislative mandates in other states in the Southeastern Conference footprint and beyond.

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