Is your youth hockey coaching staff equipped with basic first aid, CPR?
Is your team prepared?
A player has been injured and is lying on the ice motionless. Someone from the coaching staff exits the bench to assess the extent of the player’s injuries, only to realize upon exam that the player has suffered a skate laceration to the back of his leg.
The Arizona High School Hockey Association issues first aid bags to all high school teams in order to treat cuts and various injuries, and also recommends that coaching staffs review a basic first aid video. I have noted, however, that it appeared only high school was providing bags to their teams, but not all club travel teams carry first aid bags.
I brought the recommendation to our association (Flagstaff Youth Hockey Association) that we need to provide a first aid bag for each team. I also suggested that our coaching staff (if not already trained) should take a basic first aid/CPR class in order to be better prepared.
In September of this year, FYHA issued basic first aid bags to each of its travel teams. After the first week of issue, a player received a serious deep laceration from a skate blade to the top of her foot while changing in the locker room. The bandaging from the team’s first aid bag came in handy to control the bleeding and dress the wound properly until seen by emergency room staff.
Having been a Los Angeles County paramedic for over 25 years and the manager of our 16U AA team, I assembled an extensive first aid/trauma bag for our team, which includes an AED (automatic external defibrillator). Most rinks have an AED located somewhere in their lobby, but as with a major bleed, a sudden cardiac event, time is critical, and I feel an AED should be close to the player’s bench. Some high school teams are carrying AEDs in their own personal first aid packs.
Bottom line – your team needs to be prepared for a medical event on the ice.
— Scott Robinson
(Dec. 5, 2017)