Effective January 1, 2017, California joins 25 other states that require youth sports organizations to establish concussion protocols for dealing with suspected concussions in participants, information on concussions for athletes and parents, and concussion training for coaches and administrators.
Under the provisions of AB 2007, youth sports organizations will:

• Be required to immediately remove from play an athlete who is suspected of suffering a concussion or head injury;

• Prevent that player from returning to play for the remainder of the day and not returning until evaluated by a licensed health care provider who provides a written clearance;

• If the athlete has sustained a concussion there shall be a graduated return to play over seven days after receiving medical clearance to return to play;

• Parents or guardians of players under 18 shall be notified of the date of injury, symptoms observed, and any treatment provided;

• A yearly fact sheet will be provided to all athletes and if the athlete is under seventeen to their parent. The fact sheet shall be signed and returned to AYSO;

• Each Coach and Administrator shall complete concussion training at least once before supervising an athlete in an activity of the youth sports organization.

 
AYSO provides a concussion information sheet that players and parents esign during registration.
Concussion training can be accomplished online through aysotraining.org and the link to the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) course. The course is available in both English and Spanish. Concussion training can also be accomplished online through the National Federation of State High School Associations (“NFHS”).  The NFHS course can be currently found here.

AYSO has previously recommended that Coaches, Referees and Administrators complete the CDC training. For those Coaches and Administrators in California who have not completed the training, it is now mandatory that they go on-line immediately and complete the training described above before coaching at any future practice or game. Coaches and Administrators who directly access the CDC course or the NFHS course must email their completion certificates to programs@ayso.org.