As an athletics coach, you’ve likely seen it all – victory, defeat, teamwork, and devastating injuries. While you’re guiding your athletes to be their best, you’re also the one they look to when something goes wrong, which involves being able to recognize when CPR is needed, and to perform CPR correctly.
Coach CPR certification requirements vary from state to state. Learn more about the requirements for First Aid, AED & CPR certification for coaches – then get started with your certification online!
Coaches may be required to earn CPR, First Aid, and AED certifications specific to the age group they coach in order to respond appropriately in life-threatening situations.
Athletic coaches are not required to be CPR certified by any national requirement, but states, municipalities and organizations may require it. Coaches of all ages must be vigilant observers and confident rescuers in order to handle life-threatening situations appropriately. Therefore, coaches should earn their CPR, First Aid and AED certifications specific to the age groups they coach for maximum preparedness.
Athletic coaches are in a unique position to guide, challenge, and inspire people of all ages. Whether you’re coaching pop warner football, high school track, or college basketball, you take on the role of an authority figure, guardian, and role model for many.
With so much responsibility, there may come a time when your athletes and colleagues look to you if something goes wrong, such as if a player is injured or has an unexpected, life-threatening event during practice or a game.
There is no national requirement for coaches to be CPR certified. However, states, municipalities, organizations, and schools affiliated with your athletic program may have their own requirements. Even if you are not required to complete CPR training, these skills are beneficial for coaches to be able to recognize and handle life-threatening situations, and to be able to respond in ways that are appropriate for athletes of all ages.
Coaches of young children have a unique set of hazards to watch out for, including children roughhousing, growing into their athletic abilities, and learning about the world around them in ways that they don’t yet know are unsafe.
In middle school and high school, coaches are often responsible for supervising a larger number of students and have pre-pubescent and pubescent issues to cope with and attend to, as well. Older students participating in sports and extra-curricular activities tend to push themselves harder as they experience new levels of competitiveness and potentially severe injuries.
With all of these hazards, coaches are expected to be vigilant observers and confident rescuers. To be a proficient rescuer in any situation – whether it be cases of choking, allergic reaction, head injury, or something else entirely – coaches may be required to earn their CPR, First Aid, and AED certifications specific to the age groups they coach.
Generally, coaches are not considered emergency responders, even if they are the first person to notice a problem, but they still ought to be trained in proper CPR, AED, and First Aid so that they can sustain life until emergency personnel arrive. Because of this, the organization overseeing your athletic program may require you to complete First Aid, AED, and CPR training. This is your course content requirement. Be sure to select a CPR certification for coaches that specifically includes CPR, AED, and First Aid skills training.
Most likely, as a coach your requirements for learning and performing CPR — if you have any requirements — will state that you need to complete a CPR certification program, but that a hands-on portion is not required. This is your course delivery modality requirement. If you do not need to complete a hands-on portion, you can complete a fully online CPR program.
Finally, your state may have specific course brand requirements. Some organizations require that your CPR training for coaches come from a specific brand; others don’t have brand-specific requirements and allow you to complete your training with flexible online providers like ProTrainings.
There may be specific CPR certification requirements and special considerations for Coaches performing CPR according to your state. To learn more about which requirements impact you, select your state on the map below.