Notes from Wednesday's Arizona Interscholastic Association's executive board meeting: 

For the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s member schools that are struggling to hire trainers, help is on its way.  

The AIA worked with the Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center to secure a $150,000 grant to help pay for trainers on a game-by-game basis. Schools can start applying for the funds, hopefully, in about a month.

---A bylaw amendment to curb the amount of time soccer players can head a ball in preseason and regular season practices was tentatively approved by the AIA’s executive board during Wednesday’s monthly board meeting.

According to the amendment, preseason and regular season heading drills may last only 15 minutes during each practice. And teams are only allowed to practice on heading during only two practices per week in the preseason and regular season.

Scrimmage and in-practice games do not apply to the tentatively approved heading bylaw. If the AIA’s sports medicine advisory committee approves the measure to help decrease head injury concerns, the AIA will immediately adopt the emergency legislation.     

---The cancellation and forfeits of games and programs is a trend that continues and the board and the AIA want to eliminate it. The eleven cancellations or forfeit requests that were made this month were approved, but Dr. Harold Slemmer, the AIA’s executive director, said that the AIA will continue to look at ways to stem the trend.

Dr. Slemmer said sanctions might be an option.

---The board gave the AIA the OK to continue investigating the recruiting allegations against Marana Mountain View’s football program.

The board talked about the allegations during the Wednesday morning executive session.