NASHVILLE, TENN. — High school coaches might not have the first-aid knowledge necessary to deal with athletic injuries, Kirk Armstrong reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
“Coaches will be the first to tell you they know about injury prevention, but they really don't possess the knowledge needed to deal with the injuries sustained, and medical personnel aren't available in most high schools,” Mr. Armstrong of Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, said in an interview.
Mr. Armstrong, a certified athletic trainer, asked 123 high school basketball coaches in Tennessee and Kentucky to complete a modified, 38-question American Red Cross first-aid exam. Most of the coaches (81%) were from Tennessee, and had an average of almost 15 years' experience. The Kentucky coaches had an average of 11 years' experience.
Only a third of the coaches achieved a passing score on the first-aid assessment; almost two-thirds (63%) lacked a current first-aid certification.
“This [number] is extremely low,” Mr. Armstrong told this newspaper, particularly in light of some of his other findings. At most high schools in those states, coaches are the only adult with first-aid knowledge available at either practices or games. Almost no schools had a physician at games or practices, and only 26% of Kentucky and 46% of Tennessee schools had a certified athletic trainer at practices and games.
A certified athletic trainer must have at least a bachelor's degree, hold current first-aid and automatic external defibrillator certification, and receive training in injury management, bandaging, splinting, wound care, and preparing patients for transport, Mr. Armstrong said.
The lack of first-aid skills among coaches is a worry, Mr. Armstrong said, but there's not much to be done about it. Only five states mandate coaches that be certified, although most state athletic associations impose bylaws requiring certification. “But that's not anything that can really be enforced,” he said.