For several months, Dejazmatch James said he has experienced many flashbacks, even the shivers up his spine and plenty of goose bumps when recalling what happened to his friend in a community gym.

And the 20-year old experienced those same chilling feelings the other night during a special session in the St. James Campus gym. It had nothing to do with basketball, a sport he plays very well, but learning how people can respond to help save a life.

Put on by Toronto's Emergency Medical Services (EMS), members of the men's basketball team put away the round ball, delayed a practice and focused on how a few seconds could make a huge difference in keeping a person alive.

For James, what came to mind was a date - August 29, 2013.

That's when teammate Dwayne Harrison, James and others played some pick-up basketball at the Lawrence Heights Community Centre. On that late summer night, Harrison collapsed after suffering a heart attack.

Medical staff claim Harrison is alive today because of the quickness and knowledge of others in dealing with an emergency situation.

"It was surreal, I had the chills thinking about what happened and then looking beside me and seeing (Harrison) also learning, with the rest of us, how to compress a chest as well as first aid training," said James, who is a member of the Huskies men's basketball team and studying Hotel Management.

"All athletes should know how to do CPR and it's great for the EMS people to have taken time to help us learn. I'm more confident now than ever before on being able to help."

Huskies head coach Jonathan Smith informed his team that session was not an option, but mandatory.

"We each had a kit, that we got to keep, and it contained information and a half doll to help us learn," said Smith, referring to material provided by EMS and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. "Reaction from the players was amazing, they learned and did chest compressions."

And they did it while working to the rhythm of

Akai Nettey, another member of the Huskies team, said the session which included in formation about using an

"Some people think CPR is easy," said Nettey, a 23-year old Business Finance student. "You have to know what you're doing. Bumping a chest for two minutes requires lots of energy, understanding and making sure you're doing the right thing.

"The experience was great because now I feel very confident that I"d know what to do if an emergency happened and I could help save a life." - DG