All minor hockey coaches in Alberta now have to wear helmets while they're on the ice during practice.

Hockey Alberta, which governs amateur hockey in the province, made the decision on Wednesday night.

Terry Ledingham, the volunteer group's president, said two recent accidents convinced its board to act.

"We didn't want to wait any longer until we had another tragedy happen," he told CBC News. "We decided to move ahead with this."

In October, Strathmore Bisons coach Rob Ebbesen, who had decades of coaching experience, died after hitting his head on the ice.

Last winter, Calgary goalie coach Troy Williams fell while skating backwards at his son's hockey practice, suffering a brain hemorrhage and fracturing his skull. He recovered, but still suffers headaches.

Williams's wife Tracy led a successful campaign to make helmets mandatory for minor hockey coaches in the local Calgary hockey association this September.

Hockey Alberta's decision makes it one of the last provincial associations in Canada to require its coaches — about 15,000 in number — to wear helmets.

"We're trying to move as quickly with this as possible. We feel it's imperative," said Ledingham.

"We realize we may have some issues, [such as the] possibility of running out of helmets in the province just based on the amount of on-ice participants working with our programs."

There will be a grace period, but any coach caught not wearing a helmet after Jan. 1, 2009, will be suspended indefinitely, said Ledingham.