A Comparison of Emergency Preparedness Between High School Coaches and Club Sport Coaches

Recent studies suggested that a large population of high school-aged athletes participate on club sport teams. Despite attempts to document emergency preparedness in high school athletics, the adherence to emergency and medical coverage standards among club sport teams is unknown.

To determine if differences in emergency preparedness and training existed between coaches of high school teams and coaches of high school-aged club teams.

Cross-sectional survey.

Online questionnaire.

A total of 769 coaches (females = 266, 34.6%) completed an anonymous online questionnaire regarding their emergency preparedness and training.

The questionnaire consisted of (1) demographics and team information, (2) emergency preparedness factors (automated external defibrillator [AED] availability, emergency action plan [EAP] awareness, medical coverage), and (3) emergency training requirements (cardiopulmonary resuscitation/AED, first aid).

High school coaches were more likely than club sport coaches to be aware of the EAP for their practice venue (83.9% versus 54.4%, P < .001), but most coaches in both categories had not practiced their EAP in the past 12 months (70.0% versus 68.9%, P = .54). High school coaches were more likely to be made aware of the EAP during competitions (47.5% versus 37.1%, P = .02), but the majority of coaches in both categories indicated that they were never made aware of EAPs. High school coaches were more likely than club coaches to (1) have an AED available at practice (87.9% versus 58.8%, P < .001), (2) report that athletic trainers were responsible for medical care at practices (31.2% versus 8.8%, P < .001) and competitions (57.9% versus 31.2%, P < .001), and (3) be required to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation, AED, or first-aid training (P < .001).

High school coaches displayed much greater levels of emergency preparedness and training than coaches of high school-aged club teams. Significant attention and effort may be needed to address the lack of emergency preparedness and training observed in club coaches.