It’s important that there is at least one person trained in CPR in every sport setting, and that goes for soccer just as much as anything else.
A player could have a cardiac event at any time, whether they’re a professional, a novice, or even a player on a highschool team. In fact, it’s not just soccer players that are at risk – coaches or support teams, spectators… basically, if you’re at a stadium or on a playing ground, you could unexpectedly be witness to a cardiac event! But with the right training and quick response times, you don’t have to just be a witness – you could save a life.
Being young and presumably sporty means that a typical soccer player will probably be at lower risk of needing CPR than the general population, but caution is the byword here, and even top-level athletes can experience sudden heart attacks and other serious health problems. Sometimes these even come as a direct result of their seemingly healthy lifestyle because they are straining their body too much and eating extreme diets.
Optimal outcomes on the soccer field in the event of a cardiac event will be reliant on having someone trained in CPR nearby who can act quickly.
At a bare minimum, we believe that all coaches and soccer or fitness instructors should be trained in CPR and first-aid. They bear a level of responsibility for the team they are overseeing, and this is doubly important if the team is made up of kids or youths.
That said, you do not actually need to be trained in CPR to perform it, though it does help. Bad CPR is better than no CPR at all, so if you’re not going to take a course, at least familiarize yourself with what you’re supposed to do and maybe print our instructional poster to keep in the locker rooms or gym rooms etc. so that players and other people nearby will have a basic idea of what they’re supposed to do if a cardiac disaster strikes on the soccer field.
Always remember that prompt recognition and early defibrillation are critical in the management of soccer players suffering sudden cardiac arrest.