The football players and spectators of amateur club VITA are still scared. A first-team player collapsed during a match last Sunday and had to be resuscitated. The emergency was also the talk of the town in the days that followed in Megen and neighboring Haren, where VITA members live. There will be a meeting at the club on Tuesday evening to talk about what happened. “Everyone was shocked,” says chairman Jan-Thijs Ouwens.
The league match against Hedel was almost over when a VITA player lay motionless on the ground. Several bystanders immediately intervened. “There were two police officers in plain clothes along the line who immediately started to provide assistance. But there were more people who helped, such as our trainer,” says Ouwens, who had just arrived at the sports park at that time.
The CPR and AED shocks save the player’s life. “The AED has made the difference,” says Ouwens. Coincidentally, he had contact with the canteen manager a few weeks ago about the maintenance of the device. “As a club, we are responsible for the AED. That maintenance was neatly done, fortunately. There are also examples of AEDs whose batteries are empty, so you shouldn’t think about that.”
The AED used was taken to the hospital. The club has now ordered and installed a new one.
“It had a huge impact.”
After the match, players and spectators gathered in the canteen. “What happened had a huge impact. Every individual deals with it in a different way. I didn’t really know what to say, also because we didn’t know much about the health of our player yet. There was mainly gratitude that he is still there. Although of course we don’t know what the further trajectory will be.”
There will be another gathering in the canteen on Tuesday evening. “We will explain what the impact of such an event can be and what to do if it takes extreme forms,” writes the board on the VITA website.
Ouwens was also busy on Monday and Tuesday with the aftermath of the event. For example, he contacted Victim Support and opponent Hedel. “It was also emotional for them, they helped where they could. I also want to approach the referee through the KNVB. As a club, we are dealing with this in the best possible way.”
“You can see that it could happen at any moment.”
As a youth player, Ouwens already experienced an opposing player being resuscitated. According to him, Sunday afternoon’s event once again proves how important it is to know how to act in an emergency. “Last year, VITA offered CPR training to members. We will continue to do this annually, because it is so valuable to know how you can help and how an AED works. You now see that it can happen at any time.”
