AUGUSTA – State Rep. Deborah Simpson introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at increasing awareness in parents, coaches and school officials about the danger of head injuries suffered by high school athletes.

“This is a serious issue,” the Auburn Democrat said Tuesday. “In sports it’s easy to move on to the next thing and people don’t realize how serious these injuries can be.”

Simpson’s legislation would require coaches and even gym teachers to be trained “in the recognition of potentially catastrophic injuries” and would require schools to provide athletes training in recognizing the symptoms of concussions, according to the bill.

Simpson’s bill was prompted by an incident that she witnessed last fall at Edward Little High School while watching her son’s soccer game.

Mikael Heikkinen, a sophomore at Edward Little, suffered a concussion during the Red Eddies’ final soccer game of 2007. Simpson said she saw Heikkinen stagger off the field, but did not know the extent of his injury.

“I wasn’t sure if it was his leg or what,” she said.

Dave Morin, the boys’ soccer coach, said Heikkinen left the game on his own, without the referee calling an injury timeout.

“It happened so quickly,” Morin said Tuesday. Heikkinen “didn’t stay down on the field, he wasn’t treated on the field by our trainer and he didn’t say anything to either the trainer or I.”

Morin said Heikkinen did not return to the game as a result of the blow to his head.

Heikkinen agreed with the details of the incident, but said it should not be left up to the athlete to self-diagnose his own injuries.

“The student doesn’t know what’s going on and can’t be relied on to know what’s wrong,” Heikkinen said Tuesday. “It’s up to the coach and trainers to diagnose.”

Simpson said everyone involved, from athletes and coaches to school superintendents, should be more aware of the symptoms of head injuries to prevent the worst from happening.

“It’s not about getting the bill passed, it’s about creating public awareness,” Simpson said. “I’m a parent and I didn’t recognize what was wrong with him. But coaches and trainers need to be aware and be proactive. We shouldn’t wait for a student to die.”

Morin said coaches are already required to be certified in CPR and first aid.

The bill, under consideration by the Education and Cultural Affairs committee, is modeled after a law passed by the Texas Legislature last year.