New York Soccer Coach Collapses On the Field, Parents Jump in to Save Him

When a youth team’s soccer coach suddenly collapses, the community rallies around to help. At least, that was the case for 45-year-old youth coach Andrew Philbald when he experienced a cardiac arrest at his team's match on June 4. When he fell forward, face to the ground, it was just ordinary people who helped save his life.

Soccer Coach Collapses During Game

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"I went from standing up, coaching, and doing whatever, to just my heart stopped and I fell down," said Andrew, a New York native. "Nothing felt weird, nothing felt strange the whole time, until it just kind of happened."

Another coach, Paul Hermman, saw him collapse and ran over in seconds.

"I see the other coach face down in the turf... The closer I got, I started running towards him, because it just really didn't look good at all," Paul said.

The coach turned to the stands and asked if anyone knew CPR. A nurse and a retired state trooper were two of the three in the crowd who had training and sprang into action.

An AED Resuscitates Him

The school secretary said she ran as fast as she could to get the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED) and brought it to Andrew’s helpers. They shocked him three times before he became conscious. Andrew was in an ambulance just ten minutes after he fell.

“As soon as I heard the word ‘heart,’ I knew that we had to do something,” the secretary said.

Andrew stayed in the hospital for 6 days and had an internal defibrillator implanted. The cause of his cardiac arrest is unknown, but doctors told him he had only a 10% chance of surviving that kind of incident outside of a hospital.

“If it was a trained group of professionals, it’d be a miracle. The fact that it was just people…without them, I wouldn’t be here,” Andrew said.

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It Echoes a Similar Life-Saving Event

A similar thing happened to NFL defensive linebacker Damar Hamlin in 2023. Damar’s heart rhythm became disrupted when he received blunt force to the chest, and he was resuscitated with an AED.

Andrew knows that many playing fields, like those at parks, don’t have AEDs on hand. This event shows how important it is that AEDs are available anywhere physical activity takes place.

"If we wouldn't have been at a high school, I wouldn't have made it," Andrew said.

It All Fell Into Place

"It's just like all fell into place," said the retired state trooper Corey Harmon. "And the fact that the fire departments were able to get there very quickly was another key player in keeping him alive."

Since the event, Andrew has committed to knowing how to save someone else’s life if that kind of situation happens again. He plans to have a bonding activity with his team as soon as possible so that they can all learn CPR.

Thank God those around Andrew were willing to help and understood the urgency! It truly took a community to save the coach’s life.

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WATCH: New York Soccer Coach Collapses On the Field, Parents Jump in to Save Him

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h/t: ABC News

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ABC11

Michaela Gordoni is an avid reader and part-time globe-trotter. With a bachelor's degree in International Relations and experience in the non-profit world, she has a passion for people and reporting. You can check out her portfolio here.