by Karen Bledsoe

Created on: March 26, 2008

So your six-year-old has joined the local soccer team and you, faithful parent, have volunteered as an assistant coach. That's great. You child will feel good that you're so supportive, and this will give you and your child something fun to do together. Now the coach asks you if you'll be in charge of the first aid box and administering first aid to the team members. You'd like to help out, but what do you do?

First of all, it would be a good idea to get some first aid training. Most sports injuries involve bumps, bruises, or scrapes, but occasionally there may be broken bones, head injuries, heat exhaustion, or allergic reactions to bee stings. At least one adult in charge of the team should be trained and ready. Next, you'll need to check the first aid box, check the team's medical records, and review basic first aid for common sports injuries.

GET TRAINING
Your local chapter of the Red Cross offers good First Aid and CPR training that will involve just one weekend of your time. Also check your local hospital, fire stations, and community college for basic First Aid and CPR classes. Make sure you get trained in both adult and child CPR, just in case you need to administer CPR to either the young players or their parents on the sidelines.

While there are good online First Aid classes, nothing beats actual practice in a workshop. Hands-on experience is essential to help you remember what to do in an actual emergency. If you must take online training, do it with a partner so that you can practice First Aid. CPR should be practiced on a CPR dummy, not on a live person (or you can send the person into cardiac arrest), so do try to attend an actual CPR class.

When you attend a class, wear loose, comfortable clothing, since you'll spend some time on the floor practicing CPR and other First Aid techniques. Take a notebook and pen or pencil so you can take notes for the quiz at the end. When the class is over, be sure to review the manual from time to time.

CHECK THE FIRST AID BOX
Take the team First Aid box home and take inventory. At a minimum, the box should contain the following:

- Sun block, for players who forget theirs.

- Adhesive bandages in several sizes.

- Antiseptic wipes or alcohol wipes, for cleaning cuts.

- Antibiotic ointment for treating cuts and scrapes.

- Non-stick gauze pads and first aid tape for dressing scrapes.

- Instant cold packs for bumps, bruises, and sprains.

- Several elastic (Ace) bandages for wrapping sprains.

- Several triangle bandages, which can

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