This past legislative session, a bill was passed and signed into law regarding concussions and youth athletes.  Minnesota has joined a growing number of states that have passed laws on providing concussion information, training and procedures to be followed for youth athletes to return to play.  I have attached a copy of the statute and also the MYSA Concussion Policy the MYSA Board of Directors adopted at its July 9, 2011 meeting.  This law is effective as of September 1, 2011.
 
This means that all current CRU coaches both recreational and traveling must take immediate action to become compliant with this new law.
 
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention has established the HEADS UP: Concussion in Youth Sports program and tool kit to provide training to coaches, athletes, and parents regarding concussions.
 
Coaches and officials are required to take the free CDC online training course: Concussion Training for Coaches, www.cdc.gov/concussion/HeadsUp/online_training.html (click here to take the training, which is located in the middle of the webpage and takes approximately 45 minutes) before they may coach or officiate for the first time starting with the 2011/2012 season and once every three years thereafter.  Set the time aside, you can not stop and restart without starting completely over.  Make sure you are watching from a computer that can send to a printer to print your certification.  The certificate of completion at the end of the training is proof the course has been taken.  Please retain this for your records and provide a copy to the CRU Risk Manager, Ric Nelson ( [email protected]) prior to your first game.  Send your certifcation to the CRU PO Box 48778, MN  55448 or scan and email. 
 
Attached you will find a copy of the MYSA policy and training information.
 
For the youth of the beautiful game,
 
Deb Miller-Zepeda, CRU President


Concussion Policy

MN Concussion Law