Coaches in youth sports, particularly at levels below high school, are often on the front-lines of injury treatment, with no athletic trainer or team doctor to turn to when a player is injured. 

With concussion safety and education laws now in place in nearly every state, coaches play an increasingly important role in concussion safety, especially in the all-important decision about whether to remove an athlete from play for further evaluation.

If you are a coach and suspect that one of your athletes has suffered a concussion, then, regardless of the level at which you coach or what the law requires in your area, the following four steps should be taken:

First, remove the athlete from play.