Your Written Heat Policy: What It Should Cover

Your state association, school district or league may already require parts of this, with their own numbers and rules. Start there and build around it. This page doesn't replace those rules, and it isn't legal or medical advice.

Policy and emergency plan: two different documents

A heat policy covers the everyday: how you check the weather, when practice changes, how new athletes ease in. An emergency action plan covers the bad day: who calls 911, who cools, where the ambulance comes in. You need both. If you don't have a written emergency plan for each venue yet, the free National Stay Cool Day EAP builder walks you through one.

1. Who owns it

• Name one person responsible for the policy, usually the athletic director or league director.
• Name who makes the heat call on a given day at each venue, and who covers when that person isn't there.
• Say who coaches and parents should ask when they have a question.

2. How you measure the heat

• What you measure, with what tool, and where on the site you take the reading.
• When readings are taken: before practice, and again during long sessions.
• Where the reading gets written down, so there's a record of every hot day.

The exact readings that trigger each change should come from your state association or governing body.

3. What changes as it gets hotter

Write out, level by level, what happens to practice: more rest breaks, less gear, shorter sessions, moving to early morning or evening, moving indoors, or calling it off. A coach should be able to read the level and know exactly what to do without asking anyone.

4. Easing in new and returning athletes

The first days of practice in summer heat are when athletes are most at risk. The policy should say how the first week or two builds up: practice length, gear and how many sessions a day. National Stay Cool Day's acclimatization schedule is a good place to start.

5. Water and rest

• Water available at every practice, for every athlete, with no limits.
• Shade or a cool spot for rest breaks.
• No athlete is ever punished for asking for water or for a break.

6. Warning signs and who acts

List the signs every coach should watch for, and say plainly that any coach can pull an athlete without waiting for permission. An athlete who seems confused, collapses or stops making sense is treated as an emergency.

7. The cooling order, written the same everywhere

1. Call 911 and cool at the same time. One person calls while others start cooling.
2. Start cooling within 10 minutes. Cold water with ice agitation, with the goal of about 102°F within 30 minutes. At 104°F the body loses its ability to regulate its own temperature.
3. Cool first, transport second.
4. Gear: remove anything you can quickly but don't delay cooling because of gear removal.

Exertional heat stroke is 100% survivable when the athlete is cooled fast, on site. The policy should say where the tub and ice are at each venue and who sets them up before practice.

8. Training

• Every coach and regular volunteer reads the policy before the season starts.
• At least one full cooling drill each preseason. The heat stroke drill guide shows how to run one.
• Write down who was trained and when.

9. Telling families

Share the policy with parents before the season: how heat calls are made, how they'll hear about changes, and what to send with their athlete. The parents page covers what families should expect.

10. Review it every year

Pick a date each spring to read the policy again, check it against any new state or league rules, and update it after any heat emergency or close call. Walk every venue again with the preseason venue walkthrough checklist.

Where to go next

Athletic directors can use the athletic directors page for the rest of the season checklist. Coaches can use the coaches page for the daily heat routine. For questions about the Council, contact us.