Girls' Softball: What Should A Coaching First Aid Kit Contain?
As a girls? softball coach, you experience many highs and lows during the entirety of a grueling season. Unfortunately, injury is inevitable and is on the list of "lows" for both player and coach. Softball injuries come in many forms, from sunburn and bee stings, to cuts and scrapes, to busted up fingers and broken ankles. To help injured players have the best chance for a fast recovery, here is a recommendation of "must haves" that should be included in your coaching First Aid kit.
It can be argued that the most important thing to have in your coaching first aid kit is ice, cold compresses, or some other form of cold therapy. The most common injuries incurred in girls' softball are due to impact, strain, and/or muscle overuse (think pitchers). Sprained ankles, deep bruising, knee injury to ACL or meniscus, rotator cuff injury, and the like, should be treated as soon as possible with the application of cold therapy. Application of cold temporarily restricts blood flow to the injury site, preventing excessive inflammation. The faster an injured player can receive cold therapy to the region of injury, the better the chances of the survival of the surrounding cells, and a faster road to recovery.
Other common injuries are finger sprains and scrapes. I'm sure we all have experienced, either as coach or player, being hit by the ball in the hand while in the batter's box, fielding a grounder with a nasty hop, or sliding into home with the reward of a couple of bloody palms and elbows. For the former, you'll want to have splint material on hand. Finger splints can be simply constructed from something straight and stiff, like a Popsicle stick or tongue compressor, and some athletic tape or gauze to immobilize the digit.
However, today there are many options to be found that are specific for the task. Just get on Google and do a search for "finger splint," and you'll get an idea of what's out there.
For cases of road rash, it will be beneficial to have a towel, a water bottle or spray bottle, a pair of tweezers, Q-tips, cotton swabs, and non-burning antibiotic spray handy to help with flushing and cleaning those wounds. You'll definitely want to have a variety of Band-Aids, some antibiotic ointment, first-aid tape, and gauze for dressing those bloody elbows and knees.
There are also those forms of injury that are easily forgotten, such as sunburn, bee stings, etcetera. When not addressed, these "lesser" forms of injury are still very annoying and can impede a player's performance. It's a good idea to have some common household first-aid in your coach's kit as well, like sunscreen, calamine lotion, and antihistamine.
In consideration for those administering first-aid, be sure to have at least four pairs of protective gloves in your kit. Also, a few plastic bags for the disposal of contaminated materials.
All of these aforementioned items could be acquired individually and put together as a simple coach's first-aid kit. But why go through all the hassle when we live in this day and age of Google that shows all and gets us every desire? My recommendations are by no means an exhaustive list; so lucky for us, there are lots of options out there on the Google, and Amazon, when you search for "coaches' first aid kit."
Lastly, although your girls are the toughest in the land, there always will be some tears shed whether it may be from physical injury, or emotional heartbreak. In these cases, a hug, good encouragement, and a box of tissues are always good to have at the ready. So, if you haven't already, get prepared for all the scrapes, bruises, sprains, and tears; both physically and emotionally.
Here's to a great and, hopefully, injury free season!
As a girls? softball coach, you experience many highs and lows during the entirety of a grueling season. Unfortunately, injury is inevitable and is on the list of "lows" for both player and coach. Softball injuries come in many forms, from sunburn and bee stings, to cuts and scrapes, to busted up fingers and broken ankles. To help injured players have the best chance for a fast recovery, here is a recommendation of "must haves" that should be included in your coaching First Aid kit.
It can be argued that the most important thing to have in your coaching first aid kit is ice, cold compresses, or some other form of cold therapy. The most common injuries incurred in girls' softball are due to impact, strain, and/or muscle overuse (think pitchers). Sprained ankles, deep bruising, knee injury to ACL or meniscus, rotator cuff injury, and the like, should be treated as soon as possible with the application of cold therapy. Application of cold temporarily restricts blood flow to the injury site, preventing excessive inflammation. The faster an injured player can receive cold therapy to the region of injury, the better the chances of the survival of the surrounding cells, and a faster road to recovery.
Other common injuries are finger sprains and scrapes. I'm sure we all have experienced, either as coach or player, being hit by the ball in the hand while in the batter's box, fielding a grounder with a nasty hop, or sliding into home with the reward of a couple of bloody palms and elbows. For the former, you'll want to have splint material on hand. Finger splints can be simply constructed from something straight and stiff, like a Popsicle stick or tongue compressor, and some athletic tape or gauze to immobilize the digit.
However, today there are many options to be found that are specific for the task. Just get on Google and do a search for "finger splint," and you'll get an idea of what's out there.
For cases of road rash, it will be beneficial to have a towel, a water bottle or spray bottle, a pair of tweezers, Q-tips, cotton swabs, and non-burning antibiotic spray handy to help with flushing and cleaning those wounds. You'll definitely want to have a variety of Band-Aids, some antibiotic ointment, first-aid tape, and gauze for dressing those bloody elbows and knees.
There are also those forms of injury that are easily forgotten, such as sunburn, bee stings, etcetera. When not addressed, these "lesser" forms of injury are still very annoying and can impede a player's performance. It's a good idea to have some common household first-aid in your coach's kit as well, like sunscreen, calamine lotion, and antihistamine.
In consideration for those administering first-aid, be sure to have at least four pairs of protective gloves in your kit. Also, a few plastic bags for the disposal of contaminated materials.
All of these aforementioned items could be acquired individually and put together as a simple coach's first-aid kit. But why go through all the hassle when we live in this day and age of Google that shows all and gets us every desire? My recommendations are by no means an exhaustive list; so lucky for us, there are lots of options out there on the Google, and Amazon, when you search for "coaches' first aid kit."
Lastly, although your girls are the toughest in the land, there always will be some tears shed whether it may be from physical injury, or emotional heartbreak. In these cases, a hug, good encouragement, and a box of tissues are always good to have at the ready. So, if you haven't already, get prepared for all the scrapes, bruises, sprains, and tears; both physically and emotionally.
Here's to a great and, hopefully, injury free season!
Last edited:
