Printed originally in San Clemente Times. Article by Sebastian Sanchez. Click here for article published October4, 2025.

A medical emergency at San Clemente High School on Sept. 18 put preparation to the test, as the swift actions of a head coach and athletic trainer saved an assistant coach’s life. They became heroes on campus.

Right before school ended, assistant soccer coach John Merritt collapsed in the middle of the field during a soccer class. Tritons boys soccer head coach Chris Murray noticed Merritt on the ground and approached him. “His eyes were dilated, and that was the frightening part,” Murray said.

He hadn’t seen that before, and then he detected that Merritt’s face was turning purple. His instincts quickly kicked in by turning Merritt, then began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“As soon as I decided to flip him over, instincts and adrenaline kicked in,” Murray said. He remembered from his training that if he caused an injury to the ribs, it wouldn’t matter in this situation, so he focused on delivering firm, effective compressions.

The surrounding coaches contacted emergency services and messaged the school’s athletic trainer, Amber Anaya. She received two messages on her Apple Watch that read “emergency” and “down.” That’s when she rushed to the field on her golf cart.

When Anaya arrived at the scene, she instructed Murray to continue doing the chest compressions as she worked around him to set up the automated external defibrillator (AED) machine. “I always keep my emergency equipment on the golf cart,” Anaya said.

The machine analyzed the coach’s condition and guided the athletic trainer throughout the process. They administered one shock and continued compressions until EMS arrived about seven minutes later.

The paramedics gave Merritt another shock, and he had a faint pulse, which was very encouraging. It was later discovered that Merritt had gone into cardiac arrest.

“Now, he’s fine, and he just needs a pacemaker in there as well,” Murray said. “It was really scary, for sure.”

Anaya mentioned that Merritt and his wife visited her office the following Monday to express their gratitude. “There were no broken ribs or anything. He’s healthy, and his recovery is going well, to my understanding,” Anaya said.

The second-year athletic trainer was impressed by how quickly and calmly everyone reacted in this situation. The communication was “executed well,” and the transition of the operation to EMS was seamless.