First Aid Training and Sports Coaches

Firstly, I want to say that sports coaches up and down the country do a fantastic job every week. Many of them are volunteer parents who run or help out with their child's team and without them many children wouldn't be able to enjoy participating in sport.

However, I was surprised to learn the other day that not all sport coaching courses include or require the participant to have had first aid training. I have seen some serious injuries in youth and adult sport over the last few months and had there not been a Sports Therapist, Physiotherapist or qualified First Aider on site things could have ended very badly. Some of these injuries include concussion, various fractures and unconscious casualty's and they happen surprisingly regularly.

In today's financial climate not all sports clubs are in a position to pay to have a professional on site especially at 'grass roots' level so does it not make sense that all sports coaches should have mandatory first aid training for the safety of everyone involved, this is certainly something I would like to see happen. Basic First Aid courses with St Johns Ambulance cost just £20 per person and take only a few hours of your time to complete. Some sports such as the FA and RFU run sports specific courses which I can say from personal experience are very good.

A club locally that I work closely with is fantastic with regards to player safety. Not only is there at least one Sports Therapist on site with Pitch Side Trauma qualifications but every single team from Mini's right up to 1st team in both Men's and Women's sections have a qualified first aider at every game every week. I am not saying this would be achievable for every club but every team can have a first aider at every game if coaches were first aid trained. Wouldn't this be great to see?

Below I have included some links to such courses:
RFU First Aid Course
St Johns Ambulance
The FA First Aid for Sport Course