When a Teammate Gets Injured

Hopefully it doesn’t happen often, but we have all been playing in a game where a teammate gets injured. What should you do when this situation arises?

The first thing to do is surmise how serious the injury is. If it is life or limb threatening you should stop what you are doing immediately and help in any way you can. This may be by calling 911, getting ice or a rag, or by simply comforting your teammate while paramedics arrive. If you are trained in first aid or medicine then you can use your skills to help the injured player, but if not, you can probably be better served in an auxiliary role.

If your teammate is not in a life or limb threatening position, but is severely injured (broken bone, torn ACL etc) then you should estimate the severity and talk to your friend to see what they want to do. If it is an injury that the person needs medical attention, but maybe not immediate medical attention, then your role may be to drive him/her to the ER. If they are screaming for an ambulance, remind them of the cost to have one come and try and get them to calm down so that you can drive them to the nearest hospital. It may be that the injured player thinks the injury is worse than it is. But being calm headed you can help “talk them off the ledge,” and give them an outsider’s perspective.

If the injury is minor, say cuts and bruises, make sure the ref or ump knows what is happening and have them halt the game. Get your player off the field or court and, if possible, get them a rag, water or ice, basically whatever they need. Once they are out of play and nicely situated, it is OK for the game to continue.

Whatever the injury, making sure the right conditions are taken care of will help your teammate and also the flow of the game.

Keep sporting!
- Who’s In First