Most N.C. High School Athletic Association football players won't notice a difference in play this season as a result of the Gfeller-Waller Concussion Act, which was signed into North Carolina law this summer, but the football players and other middle school and high school athletes should be a little safer.

NCHSAA regulations already covered many of the provisions contained in the act for concussion management, but the act extends the requirements to middle school players as well.

Another key component of the act is education for players, parents, coaches, volunteers and first responders. The parent of every public high school and middle school athlete is required to sign a form verifying they received information on concussions.

All public high schools and middle schools also are now required to post an emergency action plan.

Twenty-seven states have concussion laws. Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, chair of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the North Carolina law is the most comprehensive.

"I'm enthusiastic about how receptive coaches, players and parents have been to the new policies to manage the injuries better," Guskiewicz said in a release.

The Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at UNC has a detailed description of the act, materials to help schools comply with the law and information about concussions at http:// tbicenter.unc.edu/ MAG_Center/gwlaw.html.

Dinkenor returns: Paul Dinkenor, who coached the Leesville Road girls' soccer team to the state title last spring, is coaching the Pride's boys' club for the first time in seven years.

He was the Leesville boys' and girls' soccer coach when the school opened in 1993. He resigned both jobs in 2004, returned as the girls' coach in 2007 and returned to the boys for opening practice Monday.

"I'm just getting back into it," said Dinkenor, whose girls finished 24-1-1 and claimed the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A championship. "I don't have a great knowledge of the personnel yet, but I am truly excited to be back at the helm."

Dinkenor had about 50 candidates for the first workout.

"You don't train the boys differently from the girls, but there is a difference," Dinkenor said.

Leesville and Broughton have a great soccer rivalry, and it will have an unusual twist this year. Nick Wheeler, who was a Leesville boys' assistant last year under Chip Stone, is the new Broughton head coach.

Marshall finishes fourth: Millbrook running back Keith Marshall finished fourth in the Young Men's 100 meters in the National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Wichita, Kan., on Sunday. Marshall ran 10.44 seconds.

Marshall also teamed with Tevin Hester, Harvey McSwain and Demonte Williams to help the Carolina Elite to a runner-up finish in the Young Men's 400 relay with a 40.06.

Carolina Elite won the Young Women's 400 relay with Hailey Blackburn, Markia Franklin, Gabrielle Gray and Alexis Murphy running a 45.42.

Marissa Bellamy of Bunn was third in the Young Women's 200 meters (23.90), and Raleigh's Bryce Love won the Young Boys 200 meters (21.92).

Griffin wins title: Benjamin Griffin of East Chapel Hill, the 2011 NCHSAA 4A golf champion, won the U.S. Kids Golf Teen World Championship last weekend at famed Pinehurst No. 2 with a 4-under-par 212. He posted three consecutive sub-par rounds on one of the most famous golf courses in the world..

Griffin won the title in the division for 14-year-old golfers in 2010.

Scrimmage booted: The Kickoff Clash scrimmages that were scheduled for Aug. 11 at the University of North Carolina's Kenan Stadium will not be held at the facility. UNC officials cited recent developments in the football program and the effects the scrimmage might have on the stadium turf for no longer being able to handle the scrimmages.

The scrimmages are between Carrboro and Providence Grove, Chapel Hill and New Bern, and East Chapel Hill and Enloe.

Catamounts name coach: Daniel Hall, a veteran assistant coach at Orange High and Durham Jordan High, is the new baseball coach at Panther Creek.

Hall is a 1992 graduate of Jordan and a 1996 graduate of UNC Greensboro.

Neal signs with Colts: Former Bunn High football standout Kerry Neal (6-foot-2, 245 pounds) signed with the Indianapolis Colts last week. Neal, a linebacker, played in every game during his four-year career at Notre Dame.

Interim AD: Chris Clayton, an assistant principal at Green Hope High, has been named as the interim athletics director at the school. Clayton follows Mickey Bissette, who recently was named the head boys' basketball coach at Wake Forest-Rolesville.

Elliott Warnock contributed to this story.