The team’s first-aid kit lives somewhere. Sometimes it lives in a coach’s car. Sometimes it lives at the bottom of the equipment bag under the cones. Sometimes it does not exist at all, and three parents have band-aids in their pockets.

This is the bag every team should have on the sideline. It costs about $80 to assemble new and you reload the consumables once a year.

The core items.

Adhesive bandages, plenty of them. Kids cut and scrape. The 30-pack assortment lasts a season.

Sterile gauze pads in 4x4 and 2x2. The 4x4 is for compression on a real bleed. The 2x2 is for the smaller stuff.

Medical tape, athletic, 1-inch. For securing gauze and minor strapping.

Self-adherent wrap, often called Coban. The same thing nurses use to hold gauze without sticking to skin. Stays on through sweat.

Elastic bandages, two sizes. For ankle and wrist support after a sprain that does not warrant immediate ER.

Instant cold packs, four of them. Single-use. The reusable gel packs work better but require a cooler.

Antiseptic wipes and antibiotic ointment, both in single-use packets. Cleaner than a tube that has lived in heat all season.

Nitrile gloves. Latex-free. Six pairs minimum. You glove up before any contact with blood.

Trauma shears. Blunt-tip. For cutting tape, fabric, or, in a real situation, a sock or jersey.

Tweezers. Splinters happen.

The ones people skip and shouldn’t.

Triangular bandage for a sling. Light, takes no space, and turns a suspected broken arm from a panic into a manageable thing while you wait for parents.

CPR face shield with a one-way valve. If you ever need it, you will be very glad you carried it. About $4.

Rescue blanket. Heat exhaustion, shock, cold-weather wait for EMS. The mylar packs to nothing.

Tampons. The EMT trick for nosebleeds that will not stop is a tampon. They are also useful for athletes on their periods who get caught short. Carry both small and regular.

Splints. One finger splint, one wrist splint. Cheap stabilization while you transport.

The medical-info cards.

The most important thing in the bag is the card. One per player. Name, date of birth, emergency contacts, known allergies, current medications, asthma plan if applicable, primary insurance information. The team manager keeps the master file. The bag has the cards in a sealed pouch.

What’s not in the bag.

Tylenol, ibuprofen, or any other oral medication. Liability and dosing reasons. Parents administer their own kid’s meds.

Heat-treated EpiPen or asthma inhalers. Those belong with the parent or the kid.

Diagnostic tools. You are not a trainer.

The bag is the first 30 minutes. Anything beyond that is the trainer, urgent care, or 911.