From Kentucky Public Radio's Lisa Autry.
Wednesday is the first day of fall practice for high school sports teams in Kentucky. Before the drills can start, coaches have to do some homework.
Under a law passed by the Kentucky General Assembly, high school coaches must complete an online safety course before they're allowed to begin practice for any sport. The law is intended to avoid a repeat of last summer when a 15-year-old Louisville football player collapsed on the practice field and died days later from heat stroke. Elden May with the Kentucky High School Athletics Association says more than two-thousand coaches have completed the course.
"The number of KHSAA member schools who have had at least one person complete the course is 260, which is very encouraging because there are 279 schools that are members of our association," he says.
The course covers topics such as head and neck injuries, as well as heat and cold-related illnesses. Under the law, at least one member of every coaching staff must complete the course and be present for all practices and games.
