High school athletes face increased heat safety risks as policies lag behind climate realities

As late-summer temperatures soar, experts warn that high school football and sports participants are at heightened risk of heat-related illnesses, highlighting gaps in current policies and emergency preparedness.

Late-summer heat can turn dangerous quickly for high school athletes, particularly those in football and other high-intensity sports, Samm Scarneo-Miller warned in an interview with WAVY. The Old Dominion University assistant professor of athletic training said the risk rises sharply during the first weeks of practice, when athletes are still acclimatising to exertion in hot conditions.

Scarneo-Miller said that once temperatures climb into triple digits, even relatively modest activity can trigger exertional heat illness. She told WAVY that the warning signs can include confusion, slurred speech, collapse, seizures, unusually hot skin and a core temperature of 105 degrees or more. In those cases, she said, fast action matters: “Exertional heat stroke can be fatal if it is not properly recognized”, but it is survivable if recognised and treated within 30 minutes of collapse.

The key treatment, she said, is rapid cooling through immersion in ice water. Scarneo-Miller described using whatever is available in an emergency, including a garbage can at a cross-country meet when a proper tub was not at hand. Her advice aligns with broader guidance from heat-illness specialists, who stress gradual conditioning, close monitoring and immediate treatment rather than waiting for symptoms to worsen.

Her comments also point to a wider policy gap. Scarneo-Miller said Virginia limits two-a-day practices, but does not require schools to use wet bulb globe temperature, a measure that combines air temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation. That matters because the heat index captures only some of the risk. The Korey Stringer Institute, which rates state policies on athlete safety in extreme heat, places Virginia near the bottom of its rankings, while North Carolina and Georgia fare much better. Research in JAMA has also found that football players account for the largest share of serious heat illnesses among high school athletes, reinforcing the need for stronger safeguards.