USA for Athletes is building a national movement to protect young athletes through early ECG heart screening, education, research and awareness.
WHO WE ARE
USA for Athletes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping prevent Sudden Cardiac Death in young athletes. Through ECG heart screenings, education, advocacy and large-scale awareness programs, we are working to identify hidden heart conditions and change how young athletes are protected.
Las Vegas became the proving ground for that mission. What began as a local effort has grown through partnerships with schools, medical professionals, community leaders and public officials into a community-wide movement to protect young athletes. The recognition of June 22 as Vegas for Athletes Day reflects what can happen when an entire community comes together around one cause. Now, USA for Athletes is taking the model built in Las Vegas and preparing to bring it to communities across the country.
Empowering communities through educational seminars, and workshops.
Organizing heart screening events to safeguard student athletes.
Championing to have the heart screening a part of annual physical.
Spreading the message through podcasts, social media campaigns, and storytelling.
PROGRAM ONE
The VFA Summer Games is one of USA for Athletes’ core programs, created to advance our mission through the power of youth sports.
This multi-sport and festival experience brings athletes, families and communities together while providing a platform to promote athlete health and safety, raise awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and expand access to lifesaving ECG heart screenings.
2026 INAUGURAL GAMES
1,200+ Athletes Registered | 8 Sports | 2,500+ Attendees | 24M+ Impressions
PROGRAM TWO
Our ECG Heart Screening Program is a core USA for Athletes program, bringing lifesaving heart screenings directly to young athletes while increasing awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Through schools, sports organizations and community partnerships, we provide accessible ECG screenings designed to help identify potential heart abnormalities that may otherwise go undetected.
There are far too many young lives lost to Sudden Cardiac Arrest to list them all, and others whose underlying heart conditions may never have been known. USA for Athletes dedicates our work to these young athletes, their families, and every young person we still have the opportunity to protect.
MicahJo Barnett , 20 – August 29, 2026 Liberty, Mo. The Jewell College running back died Saturday after suffering a medical emergency shortly after he scored a touchdown during the first quarter of his team’s season opener.
Odin Hensley, 17 — August 13, 2026 | Lake Travis, TX: The high-school football and wrestling athlete suffered cardiac arrest during football practice and died three days later.
Jaren Lawson, 16 — February 11, 2026 | San Antonio, TX: The high-school football player collapsed during an off-season practice and died; the medical examiner determined the cause was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Josh Oguns, 14 — July 2025 | Canberra, Australia: The multisport athlete suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during a basketball game and died 13 days later; doctors identified an abnormal coronary blood supply.
Niko Mijailovic, 15 — April 2025 | Los Angeles, CA: The freshman varsity volleyball player died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest; his family later began raising awareness in his memory.
Evan Briggs, 7 — September 17, 2024 | Maine: The young athlete suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest on a sports field and died despite immediate CPR and emergency response; he had been born with congenital heart defects.
Elijah-Jay Rivera, 15 — October 2023 | Windsor, CT: The high-school football player collapsed during practice and died following Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Robert Bush, 17 — July 2023 | Selden, NY: The high-school football player suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest following a conditioning drill and later died.
Ryan Keeler, 20 — February 20, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV: The UNLV football player died from cardiac dysrhythmia caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Cartier Woods, 18 — February 2023 | Detroit, MI: The high-school basketball player suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during a game and later died after being hospitalized.
Jordan Brister, 18 — January 8, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV: The Amplus Academy senior suffered cardiac arrest at school and died five days later.
Ashari Hughes, 16 — January 5, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV: The high-school flag-football player collapsed during a varsity game and died; a congenital coronary artery anomaly was later identified.
Ethan Trejo, 16 — June 24, 2021 | Cincinnati, OH: The high-school soccer player collapsed during conditioning and died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Chloe Puckett, 14 — April 27, 2020 | Las Vegas, NV | Gold Team Gymnast for Browns Gymnastics suffered sudden cardiac arrest in her sleep due to an undetected heart disease brought on by the combination of one single gene mutation in her dna and intense athletic cardio
Allen Harris, 16 — July 24, 2018 | Federal Way, WA: The high-school football player suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during a preseason workout and died; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was identified.
Patrick Schoonover, 14 — November 2014 | Eagan, MN: The youth hockey player suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during a game and died; his family later created a heart-screening initiative in his memory.
Jake West, 17 — September 25, 2013 | LaPorte, IN: The high-school football player collapsed while running during practice and died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
Sarah Landauer, 17 — March 2011 | Gainesville, FL: The soccer and track athlete suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during track practice and later died.
Matthew Hammerdorfer, 17 — March 5, 2011 | Fort Collins, CO: The high-school rugby captain collapsed during a match and died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Wes Leonard, 16 — March 3, 2011 | Fennville, MI: The high-school basketball player collapsed after making the game-winning shot and died from cardiac arrest caused by dilated cardiomyopathy.
August Koontz, 18 — October 2008 | San Antonio, TX: The young athlete died in his sleep from Sudden Cardiac Arrest associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Greg Moyer, 15 — December 2, 2000 | East Stroudsburg, PA: The high-school basketball player suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during halftime of a game and died; his death later inspired AED advocacy and legislation.
This data comes from youth athlete heart screenings conducted in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of USA for Athletes’ active pilot communities.
From screening just over 1,300 athletes, 45 heart abnormalities were identified, reflecting a detection rate of approximately 3 percent.
If applied at scale, this same rate suggests that thousands of youth athletes across communities nationwide may be competing with undetected cardiac conditions.
This is why USA for Athletes is focused on scalable screening programs, school partnerships, and community-led implementation.
Las Vegas is one city. The risk is nationwide.
Each episode of this documentary tells the story of a young athlete whose life was cut short by an undetected heart condition, transforming tragedy into prevention.
Through powerful storytelling, community screenings, and partnerships with professional teams and medical experts, these stories fund heart screenings and inspire national change.
VEGAS FOR ATHLETES
Vegas for Athletes serves as the flagship and pilot chapter for USA for Athletes. Launched in Nevada, this chapter was intentionally built to test, refine, and prove a scalable model for early heart screening in youth sports.
Through established medical partnerships, a formal MOU with Clark County School District, league and community engagement, and large-scale public activations like the VFA Summer Games, the Nevada chapter has demonstrated how local leadership can drive measurable impact.
The systems, playbooks, and partnerships developed in Las Vegas now serve as the blueprint for expanding USA for Athletes into new communities nationwide, ensuring each future chapter launches with structure, credibility, and proven effectiveness.l.
USA for Athletes is built on a proven, repeatable model that delivers early heart screening through trusted local partnerships, allowing the same impact to scale safely from one community to the next.
Community screening, easy scheduling, fast results
Chapters adopt a proven playbook and tools.
Medical oversight and school partnerships.
Parents, coaches, and volunteer's drive impact.