Sports & Athletic Emergency Medical Preparedness Toolkit

Athletic emergencies are not like office emergencies. The injuries are faster, the environments are less controlled, and the coach is almost always the first and only trained responder on the scene.

This guide gives coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic staff step-by-step response protocols for the six trauma situations most likely to cause serious harm or death at a practice or game - written for people who are not medical professionals, in the moment when every second counts.

What's covered:

Severe Bleeding - How to identify life-threatening hemorrhage versus minor bleeding, when and how to apply a CoTCCC-approved tourniquet to a limb wound, and how to pack a non-limb wound (shoulder, torso, neck, groin) with hemostatic gauze. Includes tourniquet timing, pressure dressing technique, and EMS handoff.

Suspected Spinal Injury - Recognition criteria for head, neck, and back injuries in contact sport settings. Step-by-step protocol for manual spinal stabilization, helmet-on management, and the single circumstance where movement is necessary. The one thing most coaches get wrong - and how to avoid it.

Concussion - Full sign and symptom recognition table across physical and cognitive categories. Pennsylvania Act 101 same-day return-to-play prohibition, documentation requirements, and the return-to-play clearance standard. Clear, no-exceptions removal criteria.

Heat Illness - Side-by-side recognition and response guide for heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and exertional heat stroke, including the critical mental status distinction that separates a rest-and-rehydrate situation from a 911 call. Cold water immersion protocol and the reason cooling begins before EMS arrives, not after.

Anaphylaxis - Recognition criteria, epinephrine auto-injector administration, positioning, second-dose timing, and why EMS transport is required even when symptoms resolve. Covers insect stings, food reactions, and medication exposures in the athletic setting.

Aquatic Emergencies - Drowning rescue and resuscitation priorities, why oxygenation takes precedence over spinal precautions in the unconscious drowning victim, AED use on wet patients, and secondary drowning risk. Includes diving-related cervical spinal injury management in water.

Written for field use, not a classroom. No prior trauma training required - but Stop the Bleed and CPR/AED certification are strongly recommended for anyone responsible for athlete safety. Training available through Penn Tactical Solutions at your facility through COSTARS cooperative purchasing.