Are CHS Coaches Prepared for the Dangers of Sports?

In recent events, Buffalo Bills NFL player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday, January 2, 2023. During Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed after a collision in the first quarter of the NFL game. After Hamlin’s heartbeat was restored, he was immediately transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC), where he was put on a ventilator. Since then, Hamlin has been released from the Cincinnati hospital and returned to Buffalo to make a full recovery.

After hearing this news, are Collierville High School coaches prepared for incidents like Hamlin’s? Sports injuries are divided into two categories, acute and chronic injuries. An acute injury happens fast, such as a fall or if a person receives a blow; a chronic injury happens over a period, usually resulting from overuse of the body. The top five most common sports injuries consist of sprains, strains, fractures, concussions, and overuse injuries. The top four most dangerous sports are basketball, boxing, football, and hockey.

The responsibility of a coach is to help athletes play their best individually and as a team. Coaches are also specialists in rules, strategies, and techniques for their designated sport, and have the duty of knowing about sports equipment, physical fitness, and safety. I asked Coach Rocconi, a football coach at CHS, how well prepared he is for incidents like this occurring. He mentions how “most coaches are certified in First aid and CPR and required to take a yearly safety course.”

Coach Rocconi mentions how the “professional trainers dealt with protocols” and injuries instead of him. Professional trainers design training sessions and ensure that athletes make physical progress while also dealing with injuries. However, our coaches relying on the trainers too much?

A coach’s profession is ever-changing when it comes to preparing and taking care of the team and it’s not a contest of who takes better care of the team.

Coach Vicknair stated that “[they] had some of the best trainers on hand and they are available” during practices and matches. The trainers available can help with the “occasional turned ankle or possible concussion.” But not only do Coach Vicknair and the trainers help treat injuries, but they also try and prevent them. Coach Vicknair mentioned that all her players “are required to wear ankle braces to help prevent the most common injury” they have in volleyball. . Coaches and professional trainers are supposed to rely on each other because they are a part of what makes the team, a team.