Sports Safety at School: What the Nurse Needs Families to Know Before the Season Starts

Sports participation is good for students. It is also where some of the most serious health events in a school year occur: concussions, heat illness, sudden cardiac events, and exacerbations of underlying conditions. Most of these are manageable when the right information is on file, the right protocols exist, and families understand what the school needs from them before the first practice.

A pre-season communication from the school nurse, sent before tryouts or the first practice, sets the foundation for a safer athletic season.

Pre-participation physicals before day one

A pre-participation physical examination (PPE) is the school nurse's best tool for identifying health conditions that affect an athlete's safe participation before an incident occurs rather than during one. Communicate the deadline for submitting completed PPE forms clearly and early, with enough lead time for families to schedule appointments.

Emphasize that the physical is not just a bureaucratic requirement. It catches things: the student with undiagnosed exercise-induced asthma who has been struggling through practices for two years, the student with a previously unknown cardiac arrhythmia, the student recovering from an off-season injury who has not told anyone. The PPE finds these.

Concussion recognition and return-to-play

Every family of a student athlete should understand the school's concussion policy before the season begins, not after their child gets hit in the head. Explain what a suspected concussion means, what the removal-from-play rule requires, what the return-to-play process looks like, and that academic accommodations are typically needed during recovery.

Families who understand the protocol in advance are more cooperative with it when it affects their child. Families who encounter the protocol for the first time when their child is already injured and symptomatic often push back against restrictions they did not know existed.

Heat illness prevention at the start of fall season

Fall sports begin when temperatures are highest. Heat illness is one of the most preventable sports-related health events, and one of the most dangerous when prevention fails. Communicate your school's heat acclimatization protocol, the guidelines coaches use to modify practice based on heat and humidity, and the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke that families and students should recognize.

Remind families that heat illness prevention starts at home: students should be well hydrated before practice, not catching up on fluids after arriving dehydrated from a hot afternoon. Proper sleep and nutrition during the first weeks of the season matter more than most families realize.

Medications for student athletes

Student athletes with chronic conditions need their management plans updated to address the specific demands of athletic participation. A student with asthma needs their physician to assess whether their current rescue inhaler protocol is adequate for the increased exertion of sports practice. A student with diabetes needs an updated plan for managing blood glucose during extended exercise.

Any medication a student athlete may need during practice or competition, including a rescue inhaler, must be authorized for school use and accessible, not locked in the health office during an away game.

When to contact the school nurse about a sports injury

Families often manage sports injuries at home without notifying the school, which means the nurse is unaware when a student returns to practice before they should. Ask families to inform the health office when their child has a significant injury, particularly a head injury, so the nurse can coordinate with coaches and support a safe return to activity.