The Minnesota Youth Soccer Association has adopted the following policy as part of its obligation
to provide a safe playing environment for its players.
Awareness of concussion and effects of concussion on players, especially youth players,
has increased over the past decade. Medically, a concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury.
Because it is a brain injury, a concussion is not a visible injury, such as a broken arm. It requires
time to heal properly, involving both physical and mental rest. Consequences may include loss of
coordination or memory, vision problems, learning issues and changes in emotions and behavior.
A concussion may result from a direct blow to the head or from an indirect blow to the
body that causes various forces to affect the brain within the skull. Signs and symptoms may
appear immediately or may be noticed hours or days (or longer) later. There are a wide variety
of symptoms which are possible. Loss of consciousness is not required to be diagnosed with a
concussion. Adolescents require more time to recover from concussions than adults.
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. The Minnesota Legislature passed legislation (MN Statute
121A.37 and 121A.38) in 2011 regarding youth athletes, concussions and return to play.
The Minnesota statute requires any nonprofit organization that organizes a youth athletic
activity for which a fee is charged to meet the requirements of the statute. Accordingly, it is
recommended that all MYSA Affiliate Member Clubs adopt the provisions of this policy to
comply with the statute. This policy does apply to all MYSA coaches, officials and players who
are involved in MYSA activities, including but not limited to such programs as ODP,
TOPSoccer, MYSA camps and coaching clinics involving any youth player.
The statute specifically applies to participating coaches and officials. Officials include
referees, assistant referees and fourth officials. Furthermore, MYSA recommends that this policy
apply to team managers and anyone else receiving an MYSA pass.
As part of this policy, WSC Coaches and officials are now required by law to take the free CDC online training course Concussion Training for Coaches. www.cdc.gov/concussion/HeadsUp/online_training.html The above link leads to the training, which is located in the middle of the webpage and takes approximately 45 minutes. This training will be completed and a copy of the printed certificate will be on file with the club before any coach or official may coach or officiate for the first time starting with the 2011 Fall and 2012 Summer seasons and once every three years thereafter.