SPORTS

Lancaster football players take advantage of CPR class

Tom Wilson
Reporter

LANCASTER – Lancaster High School football players are not only preparing for the upcoming season, but they also will be prepared if something drastic happens on or off the field.

The Golden Gales recently received HOPE training —which stands for Hands on Practical Experience — from the staff at Fairfield Medical Center.

“It was a good experience for our team and for our coaches,” Lancaster senior Dylan Sharp said. “It means a lot that our coaches dedicated time out of practice for something like this and shows how important this training can be.

“It's not only helping us on the field and as a player, but also off the field and as a person.”

Lancaster assistant coach Andy Knuckles said he was surprised at how much a lot of the players already knew about CPR.

“First of all, it was a great opportunity for our kids to a chance to learn it,” Knuckles said. “I was really surprised because a lot of our kids have already been trained on how to do it. But it is a good thing because you never know what can happen.

“I know when I was their age, I didn’t have a clue how to perform CPR. I’m just amazed at the knowledge our kids had. It’s just like anything else, the more you do it and practice it, the easier it will be to execute it. It was a neat thing for us, and it’s important to know what to do if something ever happens.”

This is the second time Fairfield Medical Center has offered the training.

“All of the players took it seriously, and we appreciated the fact we could do something like this,” Sharp said. “This is something that will be helpful for us because anyone can go down at any time. If it would happen on the field, we will all be prepared.

“This training can come in handy at any time and with any person. It prepares us for our future, and it is a great thing to know.”

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4358

Twitter: @twil2323