National Center for Sports Safety

Welcome our new Programs Director, Kelly Rice!

Kelly earned her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has been a nurse for 30 years and has worked as an oncology charge nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital, as the Programs Director for the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation, and as a nationally certified school nurse for Hoover City Schools.

Kelly assists in developing and administering all aspects of the Prepare for Coaches curriculum. She oversees the Safe Sport Programs for sports venues and cities. She works with these organizations to ensure they are prepared and ready for sports emergencies for both athletes and spectators. She assists them with all aspects of emergency planning as well as training for sports, city, venue, and EMS personnel. She also assists in developing and teaching the Sports Responder course for EMS and Fire Department personnel.

Congratulations to the Georgia High School Association GHSA on this amazing honor! NCSS and Aspire are proud to equip all of their coaches with our PREPARE training every year.

Georgia ranks No. 1 in safety, according to Springer Institute — Georgia High School Football Daily Georgia ranks No. 1 nationally for policies that prevent and manage sudden death and catastrophic injury in high school sports, according to the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut. The organization has been reviewing state high school sports safety policies since 2017 based o

The Alabama Fire College hosted another great Aspire Sports Responder class yesterday! Check back here for upcoming classes!

Thanks to Kelvin Reynolds WBRC for this great news story about Aspire's Sports Responder class at the Alabama Fire College.

Next class is September 22nd. Sign up today!

First responders trained to properly care for high school football players injured on the field Brad Myrick says it’s critical to protect a player’s neck and spine while removing their safety equipment to prevent further injury.

Sign up for our next Sports Responder class at the Alabama Fire College!

We will host Aspire Sports Institute's Sports Responder: Train-the-Trainer class on September 22.

This hands-on program is designed for EMS providers to gain specialized skills in:
✅ Safely removing athletic equipment from injured players
✅ Collaborating with athletic trainers + working effectively within EMS teams
✅ Treating, packaging & transporting athletes quickly and safely
✅ Managing heat illness, concussions & other common sports injuries

Don’t miss this chance to expand your expertise — at no cost!
Register at: www.alabamafirecollege.org/sportsrespondertrainer

We had a great class and a great turnout yesterday for our Sports Responder Class hosted by our partner, the Alabama Fire College. Training included heat illness, concussion evaluation, common sports illnesses/injuries, and hands-on practice to safely remove athletic equipment from injured players.

EMS personnel from 15 different departments across the state took part in the class and are ready to assist athletes in their communities when an injury occurs.

Our next class will be on September 22nd at the Fire College in Tuscaloosa. Check back soon for the sign up link on this page!

The Alabama Fire College is offering Aspire's Sports Responder Course on Sept. 10th. This Train the Trainer Course will be free of charge. Sign up now!

This course equips EMS providers with the specialized knowledge and hands-on training to safely remove athletic equipment from injured players. You’ll learn to collaborate effectively with athletic trainers and also work independently within your team of EMS professionals to treat, package and transport injured athletes safely and quickly. Additional topics covered are heat illness, concussion evaluation and other common sports injuries.

Sports Responder: Train-the-Trainer
September 10
www.alabamafirecollege.org/sportsrespondertrainer