Resources for Coaches

The Buffalo Bills and the American Heart Association have teamed up to help youth sports coaches, parents and athletes learn how to help in an emergency, both on and off the field. Click below for info on Hands-Only CPR education and CPR in Youth Sports Training kits for your organization. 

The Buffalo & Erie County offers free CPR kits available for pickup at all branches. The kit includes a DVD featuring practice-while-watching video segments, an inflatable Mini Anne personal CPR manikin, a CPR reminder card, and instructions for use. The DVD and reference materials have both English and Spanish options.

Be prepared in an emergency: Learn CPR. Save a Life. The American Heart Association offers a catalog of CPR certification courses. Click below to find the right course for you. 

Check out this 60-second video on Hands-Only CPR. Most people who experience cardiac arrest at home, work or in a public location die because they don’t receive immediate CPR from someone on the scene. If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse, call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of any tune that is 100 to 120 beats per minute, such as the classic disco song “Stayin’ Alive.”

As a catalyst for a positive youth sports culture, Positive Coaching Alliance provides research-based training and resources for coaches, parents, athletes, and leaders to ensure a positive youth development experience for ALL kids, in all communities across the U.S., through sports.

Are you a volunteer coach or interested in becoming one? Then check out this FREE, 30-minute interactive online training course for volunteer coaches for kids under age 12. Co-created by Nike and the U.S. Olympic Committee, with the support of our partners at the Aspen Institute, How to Coach Kids also offers a complete resource center with tools for coaching kids in any sport.

Our community has faced tremendous challenges and endured multiple traumatic events over the last few years. Youth sports can heal. It’s important for coaches to learn about trauma-informed care to support their athletes both on and off the field.

A study by the University of Connecticut found exposing children to a variety of sports promotes “physical literacy” and helps them develop better movement skills and long-term physical activity.

Coaching kids goes beyond simply winning games—it’s also critical to develop each athlete. As a coach, if you can focus on the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical needs of the whole child, you can help youth athletes feel safe and supported, foster important traits such as responsibility and perseverance, and guide them in building an emotional foundation for success.