What to Do When a Player Gets Hurt at Camp
It is day three of your summer sports camp. A 9-year-old takes a hard fall during a relay race and comes up holding her arm. She is crying. Her coach is trying to keep her calm. Other campers are watching. And you, the camp director, need to know exactly what to do next.
Injuries happen in youth sports. That is not a question of if but when. What separates a well-run camp from a disorganized one is how the adults respond in that moment. After more than 50 years of protecting youth sports programs at Bene-Marc Youth Sports Insurance, we have seen that the camps with a clear plan handle these situations faster, calmer, and with better outcomes for everyone.
Here are six steps every camp director should follow when a player gets hurt.
1. Remove the player from activity immediately
Do not let them walk it off. Do not wait to see if it gets better. If a camper shows any sign of injury, pull them from the activity right away. Move them to a shaded, comfortable area and keep them calm.
This applies to visible injuries like a twisted ankle and to less obvious ones like dizziness or nausea after a collision. When in doubt, sit them out.
2. Administer first aid and assess the situation
Every camp should have at least one person on-site who is trained in basic first aid and CPR. Apply ice, clean and bandage minor wounds, and assess whether the injury requires professional medical attention.
For serious injuries, head injuries, suspected fractures, difficulty breathing, or loss of consciousness, call 911 immediately. Do not attempt to diagnose or treat anything beyond basic first aid.
3. Contact the parents or guardians
Call the child’s emergency contact as soon as possible. Be clear about what happened, what you observed, and what steps you have taken. Stay calm, factual, and compassionate. Parents want to know their child is being taken care of.
Have your emergency contact forms organized and accessible before camp starts, not buried in a folder in your car.
4. Document everything
Write down what happened while it is still fresh. Include the date, time, location, names of the people involved, what activity was taking place, and what the injury looked like. Note the names of any witnesses.
Good documentation protects the camper, protects your organization, and makes the insurance claims process much smoother if a claim needs to be filed.
5. File an insurance claim promptly
If the injury requires medical treatment, contact your insurance provider to begin the claims process. The sooner you file, the sooner the family can get help with medical expenses.
If your camp carries excess accident medical coverage through Bene-Marc Youth Sports Insurance, this coverage helps pay for the participant’s medical bills beyond what the family’s health insurance covers. If the family does not have health insurance, it can serve as primary coverage.
As Kendrick Hilburn, one of our clients, shared, “Bene-Marc Youth Sports Insurance has exceptional customer service, they are friendly and always eager to help. You will always get a live person to help you with any questions or concerns.”
6. Review and improve your protocols
After every incident, take time to review what happened and how your team responded. Was the first aid kit stocked? Did your coaches know the protocol? Was the documentation complete?
Use each incident as a learning opportunity. The best camp operators are the ones who get better every season.
A story from the field
Let’s say you are a first-year camp director running a week-long multi-sport camp for kids ages 6 to 12. On Wednesday, two kids collide during a soccer drill. One has a cut above his eye that needs stitches. You follow the protocol: remove both kids from the field, administer first aid, call the parents, and document the incident. The family takes the child to urgent care, and you file the claim with your insurance provider that same afternoon.
Because your camp has the right coverage in place, the family’s medical costs are covered, and your camp continues without disruption. That is the difference preparation makes.
Call us at 800-247-1734 or visit bene-marc.com. A real person will answer the phone.
Play hard, rest easy, knowing you are covered.
For camp safety guidelines and planning resources, visit the Aspen Institute’s Project Play.
