Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 420-11-3 — Youth Injury Mitigation Training

420 Alabama Department of Public Health

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-11-3-.01 General

(1)Under and by virtue of the authority vested in it by the

Legislature of Alabama, the Alabama State Committee of Public Health does hereby adopt and promulgate the following rules governing injury mitigation training for high risk youth athletic activities.

(2) Definitions.

(a) “Association” – Any organization that administers or conducts high risk youth athletic activities on property owned, leased, managed, or maintained by the state, an agent of the state, or a political subdivision of the state.

(b) “Athletics Personnel” – Athletic directors and other individuals actively involved in organizing, training, or coaching sports activities for individuals age 14 or under and who have not yet been admitted to seventh grade.

(c ) “Coach” – Any individual, whether paid, unpaid, volunteer, or interim, who has been approved by the association to organize, train, or supervise a youth athlete or team of youth athletes. If an individual approved by the association is unavailable, the term may include an individual selected by a youth athlete or a team of youth athletes who have not been approved by the association.

(d) “Department” – The Alabama Department of Public Health.

(e) “High Risk Youth Athletic Activities” – Any organized sport in which there is a significant possibility for a youth athlete to sustain a serious physical injury, including, but not limited to, the sports of football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer, ice or field hockey, cheerleading, and lacrosse.

(f) “Youth Athlete” – An individual who is 14 years of age or under and who has not yet been admitted to seventh grade.

History

• Author: Jamey Durham
• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, Act 2018-496.
• New Rule: Filed September 20, 2018; effective November 4, 2018. Amended: Published November 26, 2025; effective January 10, 2026.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-11-3-.02 Minimum Course Requirements

Youth athletics associations and recreational organizations that sponsor or conduct sports training, or high-risk youth athletic activities for children age 14 years and younger, shall require all unpaid or volunteer coaches and athletics personnel to complete a didactic, online, or residence course approved by the Department that addresses, at the very minimum: (a) Emergency preparedness, planning, and rehearsal for traumatic injuries. (b) Concussions and head trauma. (c) Heat and extreme weather-related injury familiarization. (d) Physical conditioning and training equipment usage. (e) Heart defects and abnormalities leading to sudden cardiac death.

The course requirement under this section shall be an annual requirement to be completed no later than the anniversary of the date on which the individual became actively engaged in serving as athletic personnel or coach for the association. Any individual required to take an injury mitigating course pursuant to this rule shall complete the course within 30 days of becoming actively engaged in, or serving as, athletics personnel or coach for the association.

History

• Author: Jamey Durham
• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, Act 2018-496.
• New Rule: Filed September 20, 2018; effective November 4, 2018. Amended: Published November 26, 2025; effective January 10, 2026.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-11-3-.03 Available Resources Meeting Requirements

Resources that fulfill the minimum requirements shall be listed on the Department’s website at www.alabamapublichealth.gov under Youth Athletic Training Resources.

History

• Author: Jamey Durham
• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, Act 2018-496.
• New Rule: Filed September 20, 2018; effective November 4, 2018. Amended: Published November 26, 2025; effective January 10, 2026.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-11-3-.04 Development of Programs and Recordkeeping

(a) Each youth athletics association and recreational organization shall develop a Coach Safety training program that encapsulates the minimum training requirements identified above and develop a tracking tool to ensure every coach and athletics personnel completes the course within 30 days of becoming actively engaged in, or serving as, a coach or athletics personnel. Implementation of said program should take internet connectivity, or lack thereof, into consideration.

(b) Each youth athletics association and recreational organization governing body shall maintain a record of individual course completion for as long as an individual serves as a coach or athletics personnel. The annual requirement shall be completed no later than the anniversary of the date on which the individual became actively engaged in serving as a coach or athletics personnel.

(c)Each youth athletics association and recreational organization shall register its existence and report coach and athletics personnel course completion information within 30 days of the effective date of these rules. Registration and reporting shall be conducted through the Department’s website at www.alabamapublichealth.gov under Youth Athletic Training Resources.

History

• Author: Jamey Durham
• Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, Act 2018-496.
• New Rule: Filed September 20, 2018; effective November 4, 2018. Amended: Published November 26, 2025; effective January 10, 2026.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-11-3-.05 Certain Professionals Exempt

All licensed and certified athletic trainers, doctors, nurses, first responders, and health care professionals with acute traumatic life support training shall be exempt from the course requirement.

History

• Author: Jamey Durham
• Authority: Code of Ala. 22-11F-3
• New Rule: Published November 26, 2025; effective January 10, 2026.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-11-3-.06 Penalties for Noncompliance

1. If the Department determines that a youth athletic association is not in compliance with these rules, the following procedures apply subject to the availability of funding and staffing:

2. After the first year of noncompliance, the Department shall privately notify the executive head of the association in writing concerning the association’s failure to comply.

3. After a second consecutive year of noncompliance, the Department shall notify the executive head of the association in writing of the association’s continued failure to comply and post a copy of the notice on the Department’s public website.

4. After a third year of consecutive noncompliance, the Department shall issue a fine against the association. The fine shall be as follows: 1. For a youth athletic association with less than 100 coaches, two hundred dollars ($200).

ii. For a youth athletic association with 100 or more coaches, ten dollars ($10) per coach.

1. After the fourth consecutive year of noncompliance, the youth athletic association may not administer or conduct any youth athletic activities on property owned, leased, managed, or maintained by the state, an agent of the state, or a political subdivision of the state for a period of 1 year.

2. The notices provided pursuant to (1)(a) and (1)(b) shall include: 1. Instructions on how to comply with the course requirements of these rules.

b. An explanation of the consequences of continued noncompliance.

History

• Author: Sancha Howard
• Authority: Code of Ala. 22-11F-4, Act 2025-300.
• New Rule: Published November 26, 2025; effective January 10, 2026.