During a typical softball season, in spite of the very best injury prevention plan, some injuries will occur. Most of these will be during practice, and you or another competent adult must provide care as best you can.
Here are some tips to make sure you're ready and equipped for any eventual injuries to your team:
Be Prepared
You want to know as much as you can about treating injuries to keep the damage from an injury to a minimum. Consider enrolling in a first aid class and taking a CPR course. You should have a first aid kit at your practices and games (suggested contents below), and know the number of emergency personnel.
Also, it's key to know the answer to the following questions before hitting the field:
- Do you know where the nearest phone is?
- But more importantly since you will be staying with an injured athlete on the field, do your players know where the nearest phone is, and how to tell emergency personnel how to get where you are?
- Do you have change if it is a pay phone?
- Do you have medical release forms?
As a coach, you should make every effort to expand your knowledge of first aid so that you can minimize the damage from injuries received in practices and games.
What's in Your Kit?
Here's a recommended list of items that should be in your first-aid kit:
- Ice or Impact Ice Bags
- Splint Material
- Plastic Bags
- Scissors
- Band Aids
- Sun Screen
- Athletic Tape/Gauze
- Antibiotic Tape
- Q-Tips/Cotton Swabs
- Antibiotic Ointment
- Safety Pins
- Tweezers
- Bug Spray
- Telephone
- Change
- Four Pairs of Rubber Gloves
- Medical Release Form
- Towel
- 1
- of
- 2
Discuss This Article