What if someone gets hurt?

Author: Lori Brown, ASEP Youth Sports Sales Consultant

08/21/2008

The first time I ever volunteered to coach, there were a lot of questions that floated through my mind: Do I have the team management and leadership skills to organize team practices and activities and motivate my athletes to perform at their best? Do I have enough technical and tactical knowledge of the sport to coach it effectively and not look completely lost? Should I serve pulled-pork sandwiches or lasagna at my preseason parents meeting?

And then came a sobering question: What if one of my players gets hurt? Would I know how to respond in event of a broken nose, dislocated finger, twisted ankle, or something worse? Logic says that we practice more than we play games, so the likelihood of an injury occurring during practice — when I’m in charge — is pretty high. What exactly is my responsibility as a coach in these situations?

That question alone awakened me to the fact that I needed some training. I ended up taking the ASEP Coaching Youth Softball online course, and this was before I had started working at ASEP. All ASEP Coaching Youth [Sport] courses devote an entire section to sport first aid, providing youth coaches with the knowledge and confidence to be competent first-responders. More extensive first-aid training is available through the ASEP Sport First Aid course (available online or as a classroom course). Sport First Aid was recently revised and updated to include the latest research and best practices of the American Heart Association and American Safety and Health Institute. It also features the text Sport First Aid Fourth Edition, an excellent resource coaches can refer to throughout the season and for years to come.

Our free download this month “Coach’s Role on the Athletic Health Care Team” is taken from Sport First Aid. This enlightening resource provides guidelines on what is expected of coaches in the eyes of the legal system. You’ll just need to complete a short form prior to accessing the free document. While you’re there, check out the many other resources under this area of the ASEP Web site - all free for the taking.

ASEP will soon introduce CPR/AED for Coaches, a new blended course providing coaches potentially life-saving instruction on administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation and using an automated external defibrillator. ASEP is looking to expand its instructor base for this course; if you’re a sport administrator interested in becoming a CPR/AED for Coaches instructor and teaching this course to coaches in your program or community, contact me today.