A high rate of youth sports participants who have asthma means that coaches and managers should have some basic awareness about the chronic respiratory disorder and how to deal with it, the Minnesota Department of Health said in a news release Tuesday.

Reviewing results of the 2010 Minnesota Student Survey, the health department found that 71 percent of middle and high school students who identified themselves as having asthma also participated in club and community sports. That compared to 70 percent of students without asthma. (An estimated 90,000 children in Minnesota have asthma. About 1,000 of these children are hospitalized for asthma-related complications each year. Between 2005 and 2010, there have been 14 asthma-related deaths of children and teens.)

The state consequently encouraged youth coaches to take a 25-minute online training program to understand asthma and what to do when an athlete has an asthma attack. (This voluntary training is different than the required concussion training for youth sports coaches in the state.)