SALEM – In 2001, Waldport High School quarterback Max Conradt suffered a mild concussion when he was hit by a defensive player.

Told by a doctor not to play until his headaches were gone, Conradt suited up the next week and took more hits. He later collapsed on the sideline from a traumatic brain injury.

On Tuesday, the state Senate unanimously approved a bill requiring school districts to provide annual concussion training for coaches in all sports. Senate Bill 348, which now moves to the House, has been given the unofficial title of “Max’s Law.”

Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, sponsored the bill at the request of the Brain Injury Association of Oregon. He says coaches too often let athletes return to competition before they are ready.

Conradt recently moved to a Salem facility for brain-injured adults, after spending five years living at a similar home in Portland, The Register-Guard newspaper reported. When the bill was in the Senate Education Committee, his father showed committee members a four-minute video about Max’s injury and subsequent problems.

Sen. Alan Bates, an Ashland Democrat who is also a doctor, said it’s critical that coaches receive proper training in recognizing signs of a concussion and that they act on them. “The problem with brain trauma is that it’s a continuation of very, very subtle conditions that continue for weeks or months,” Bates said.