Your team gets off the bus at someone else’s field. It’s hot, the sun is still high, and nobody on your staff knows where the host school keeps its ice, its cooling tub or its emergency plan. If one of your athletes goes down in the next two hours, you’ll be solving those problems in the moment.
Most heat plans are written for home games. Away games, road tournaments and scrimmages at other schools need their own version. The good news is that it only takes a few phone calls and one checklist.
Exertional heat stroke is 100% survivable when the athlete is cooled fast, on site. On the road, “on site” means you can’t assume someone else has it covered.
Call the Host Before Game Day
A few days out, have your athletic trainer, athletic director or head coach reach the host school. Ask:
- Will there be a cold-water immersion tub at the field, filled and iced before warm-ups?
- Will an athletic trainer or other medical staff be on site for the whole event?
- Where is the ice, and who brings it out?
- Where will an ambulance enter, and what’s the exact address to give 911?
- Can we see your emergency action plan for that venue?
- How will you decide about breaks, or about changing or stopping play, if it gets hot?
Write the answers down and share them with your whole staff. If the host can’t promise a tub, plan to bring your own. See why every practice and event needs a cold-water immersion tub on site.
Pack Your Own Cooling Setup
Even when the host says yes, a backup on your bus costs very little. Pack:
- a cooling tub, or a heavy tarp you can use to cool an athlete if no tub is available
- coolers of ice, more than you think you need
- a way to fill the tub with water at the field
- towels
- a printed copy of your emergency action plan with the away venue’s address filled in
- a charged phone for every adult on staff
Our cooling station checklist covers what a full setup looks like.
Update Your Emergency Action Plan for the Venue
Your home plan names your field, your gate and your nearest hospital. None of that is true at an away game. Before you leave, fill in:
- The venue address and the gate or entrance an ambulance should use.
- The nearest hospital to the away field.
- Where your tub will sit, close to your bench or sideline, not back by the bus.
- Who does what: who calls 911, who starts cooling, who meets the ambulance at the gate and who stays with the rest of the team.
If you don’t have a written plan yet, the free Emergency Action Plan builder walks you through one. And plan for more than one athlete going down. Read why your emergency action plan must account for multiple athletes going down at once.
Watch the Travel Day Itself
Road trips change the day in ways that add heat stress:
- Long bus rides. Athletes sit for hours, drink less and may skip meals. Bring water and food on the bus.
- Hot buses. A bus parked in the sun with the air off heats up fast. Don’t use it as a waiting room.
- Little shade. Visiting sidelines often have none. Bring a pop-up canopy if you can.
- A different climate. A team traveling to a hotter or more humid area hasn’t gotten used to it. Treat the first day there like early-season practice. See heat acclimatization for athletes.
- Multi-game days. Road tournaments stack games with short breaks. Read tournament heat safety for multi-game days.
It doesn’t take extreme heat. Days in the 80s with high humidity can still be dangerous, so check conditions at the away site, not at home. WBGT for schools explains how to measure them.
If an Athlete Goes Down
The response is the same at any field. Watch for a change in how the athlete is thinking or acting: confusion, stumbling, odd behavior or collapse. An athlete with heat stroke may still be sweating. Learn the full list in exertional heat stroke symptoms every coach and parent should know.
- Call 911 and start cooling at the same time. One adult calls while others cool.
- Cool first, transport second. Start cooling within 10 minutes of collapse, with the goal of bringing the athlete to about 102°F within 30 minutes.
- Use cold-water immersion with ice agitation if a tub is there. Remove anything you can quickly but don’t delay cooling because of gear removal.
- Send someone to the gate to bring the ambulance straight to the athlete.
- Keep cooling until medical staff take over.
The reason this matters: around 104°F, the body loses its ability to regulate its own temperature. Fast cooling on site is what brings an athlete back.
Away Game Heat Checklist
- Host called, answers written down and shared with staff
- Tub, ice and water source confirmed or packed
- Emergency plan updated with venue address, gate and nearest hospital
- Jobs assigned: 911 call, cooling, gate, rest of team
- Water and food on the bus
- Shade packed for the sideline
- Conditions checked at the away site on game day
Bring Your Program Into National Stay Cool Day
On April 8, 2027, schools and teams will practice exactly this kind of plan on National Stay Cool Day. Learn how your school or program can sign up and take part.
This article is educational and does not replace medical advice. In an emergency, call 911.
