Westfield firefighter/paramedic Matt Medeiros, and a coach for the Westfield Youth Football League, explains an automated external defibrillator (AED) to a group of parents and coaches during a safety training meeting Tuesday night. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – On Tuesday, Westfield Youth Football held a CPR and AED certification training event, hosted by Aaron Wagner at his business, Carpet Warehouse in Westfield.
The WYF is now mandating that the head and assistant coaches of the Cheer, Tackle, and Flag Divisions be required to have certification in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training. Sudden cardiac arrest needs to be treated within three to five minutes after collapse, proving why it is an imperative need for coaches to be trained with these life-saving skills.
The event gained lots of support and attracted people from the region to help assist in training. Those who donated their time to help with the certifications were Amherst Police Sergeant Brian Daly, Amherst Fire Firefighter-Paramedic Steve Gaughan, Belchertown Police Detective John Raymer Jr., Westfield Police Officer Chris Coach and UMass Police Sergeant Matt Malo. The event was open to both parents and coaches.
Five people of the approximately 30 attendees were coaches, while the rest were people who voluntarily gave their time to become certified.
“We welcome everyone with open arms,” WYF President Bob St. Pierre said. “I’m surprised so many people jumped onto it”.
Michelle Coach, foreground, learns how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a child-size training mannequin during a safety meeting for the Westfield Youth Football League Tuesday evening. Parents and coaches attended the medical training seminar which was led by certified first aid instructors. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
It was a month ago at a meeting that Westfield Youth Football began to look into mandating certification. The WYF had always had an automated external defibrillator machine, but people hadn’t been trained to use it.
“A light bulb went on. It dawned on us, why haven’t we done this yet?” said St. Pierre.
With this new implementation, St. Pierre hopes that other programs will catch on.
“As far as western Mass., to our knowledge we are the only youth sports program that mandates for coaches to be certified,” St. Pierre said. “Hopefully, other programs will follow suit,” he said.
Currently there are 350 to 400 youth participants in the WYF. The CPR and AED training will not only benefit the players themselves, but also the people in the stands, including family members and friends.
“We had a coach EMT, but we can’t just rely on one single person,” said St. Pierre. “We need people trained across the board. There’s strength in numbers”.
In addition to certifying coaches, the WYF’s current AED machine is being restored and updated by Matt Medeiros from the Westfield Fire Department. The WYF plans on having the AED everyday on the practice field at Westfield High School at a centralized location.
“It will always be on sight. We don’t want to be at the mercy of an ambulance or the hospital,” St. Pierre said.
Ultimately WYF’s goal is to provide a safe playing environment for both athletes and the community. Protective measures like CPR can more than double a person’s chances of survival in the case of a sudden cardiac arrest.
“We want to go above and beyond,” said St. Pierre. “This is another way to ensure an extra comfort level with the parents and provide a safety net for the kids.”
