No single national rule we could find requires an athletic trainer at youth games, or an ambulance. The rules that exist come from three places: the state, the state high school association, and the league’s own governing body. Those rules vary, and many community leagues fall under none of them. Four football cases in the news this season opened the question for many boards. In none of the...
AED requirements for youth sports depend on two things: the state, and whether the program is a school team or a community league. The 2026 laws described in this article apply to schools. A community league that practices on a park field may fall outside them. In late August 2026, a 13-year-old in Greensboro, North Carolina, went into cardiac arrest after running a lap at the start of middle...
Wet bulb globe temperature, or WBGT, is one number that combines air temperature, humidity, wind, and sunlight, and published heat policies use that number to tell a coach when to add breaks, remove equipment, shorten practice, or stop. The thresholds differ by region, so a coach needs the table for the right part of the country. Four news stories from July and August 2026 show why the reading...
Heat acclimatization is the two-week ramp that lowers a young athlete’s risk of exertional heat stroke, and the first practice of the season is where it matters most. Two football players died in August 2026 after collapsing at or after that first practice. A 17-year-old senior lineman at Lake Travis High School in Texas collapsed at about 8 a.m. during the team’s first practice on...
Imagine this: A young athlete collapses during practice. A client suffers a sudden medical emergency on the gym floor. Seconds matter. Panic causes delays. But what if everyone knew exactly what to do? That is the purpose of a comprehensive Emergency Action Plan (EAP). It is a documented playbook for managing medical, environmental, and security emergencies and ensuring a calm, coordinated, and...
Why this topic matters Hotter summers and longer preseason sessions have raised emergency-room visits and lawsuits tied to exertional heat illness (EHI) in athletes under 18. CDC surveillance shows that football alone accounts for more than 70 percent of high-school heat-related illnesses. (See the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on heat illness in youth athletes for additional...