Energy Drink or Pre-Workout Use

An athlete brings, shares, or reports using an energy drink, pre-workout powder, stimulant gummy, or performance supplement.

Recognize

What to notice before you act

1/5

The situation

An athlete brings, shares, or reports using an energy drink, pre-workout powder, stimulant gummy, or performance supplement.

Observable signs and patterns

The exact product and current label are unknown.
The athlete is using it to replace sleep, food, or hydration.
Use is escalating, shared among teammates, or hidden from the household.
There are palpitations, tremor, anxiety, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain, or altered behavior.

May be routine

A question before use with the exact package available for adult review.
The athlete accepts a food-, fluid-, and sleep-first alternative.

Needs attention

Use is repeated, combined with medication or other stimulants, or hidden.
The athlete has symptoms, cannot identify the ingredients, or is pressuring teammates to use it.

Coach boundary: Coach scope is observe, protect, communicate, and refer. Do not diagnose, order testing, prescribe treatment, promise confidentiality, store detailed health histories, or override the school emergency action plan or a qualified clinician's participation instructions. Coaches do not approve a dose, interpret medication interactions, or guarantee product safety, purity, legality, or eligibility.

Respond

What to say and do today

2/5

Opening script

“A sports drink and an energy drink are not the same thing. I am not approving this product or a dose. Let's look at the exact label with your parent and the athletic trainer or physician, and first identify whether the real problem is missed food, fluid, or sleep.”

Neutral questions to ask

1What is the exact product and serving label?
2When and why are you using it?
3Have you taken more than the label serving or combined products?
4Are you taking any medication or managing a health condition?
5Have you felt a racing heart, chest pain, tremor, anxiety, vomiting, dizziness, or trouble sleeping?
6Does your parent or guardian know about it?

Actions for today

Do not distribute or endorse the product; follow current school and athletics policy.
If there are no symptoms, preserve or photograph the label for the parent and health professional rather than guessing from the brand name.
If symptoms are present, stop activity and involve the athletic trainer or emergency pathway.

Do not do this

Do not provide a caffeine or stimulant dose.
Do not assume a product is safe because it is sold in a store or carries a sport-looking label.
Do not shame the athlete or turn the conversation into a public punishment.

Act

Green, yellow, and red decisions

3/5

Green · Question before use

No ingestion or symptoms
Exact label can be reviewed with an adult

Use the handout to identify product type and choose the food-, fluid-, or sleep-first alternative.

Yellow · Use without acute symptoms

The athlete has used the product
Medication, repeated use, sharing, or unknown ingredients are involved

Contact the parent or guardian and athletic trainer, pharmacist, or physician for individual review; follow school policy.

Red · Adverse symptom or overdose concern

Chest pain, fainting, seizure, severe agitation, confusion, breathing difficulty, persistent vomiting, or suspected excessive ingestion

Stop participation, stay with the athlete, activate the school's emergency action plan, and contact the parent or guardian through the approved process.

What happens to training

green: Use ordinary fueling and hydration; no stimulant trial is part of practice.
yellow: Hold product use and adjust participation if sleep loss or symptoms impair safety while the health team reviews it.
red: Stop participation and activate emergency care.

Implement

Make the response repeatable

4/5

Implementation objective

Separate sports drinks from stimulant products and prevent coach endorsement or team sharing.

Weekly routine

1.Publish the school product policy.
2.Teach label identification using packages, not brand assumptions.
3.Keep ordinary snacks and fluids available.
4.Use one adverse-symptom response pathway.

Resources needed

Current school policy
Package-photo comparison handout
Parent message
Emergency contacts

Owner: Athletic director owns policy; athletic trainer owns health escalation; coaches enforce no-sharing rules.
Cadence: Review preseason and when a new product appears.
Cost and purchasing: Do not use team funds for stimulant products; budget for ordinary food and hydration access instead.

Who should be involved

Parent or guardian

A minor has used or plans to use the product.

Athletic trainer, pharmacist, or physician

Ingredients, symptoms, medication interactions, or health conditions need review.

Athletic director

Team sharing, sponsorship, storage, or school policy is involved.

Follow up and refer

Close the loop without becoming the clinician

5/5

Follow-up timing

Confirm parent handoff the same day; recheck sleep, symptoms, and use within one week.

Questions to recheck

Was the exact label reviewed?
Did any symptom occur?
Is the product still being shared?
Was the underlying food, fluid, or sleep gap addressed?

How to know the response is working

The athlete can distinguish product categories.
No coach-endorsed stimulant use or team sharing occurs.
Individual questions are owned by a qualified health professional.

Copy-ready parent message

Your athlete reported or brought an energy drink, pre-workout, or supplement. I did not approve the product or a dose. Please review the exact current label with your pharmacist, physician, or athletic trainer and tell us about any participation restriction or adverse symptom.

Brief documentation template

Exact product name and label sourceReported amount only in the athlete's words, without dose adviceSymptoms observedPolicy actionAdults contacted

Evidence and scope

Coach scope is observe, protect, communicate, and refer. Do not diagnose, order testing, prescribe treatment, promise confidentiality, store detailed health histories, or override the school emergency action plan or a qualified clinician's participation instructions. Coaches do not approve a dose, interpret medication interactions, or guarantee product safety, purity, legality, or eligibility.

Open the paired athlete handout

This guide is general education for school sport operations. Follow current school policy, the venue-specific emergency action plan, safeguarding requirements, and written instructions from qualified health professionals.

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All coach protocols

Energy Drink or Pre-Workout Use

An athlete brings, shares, or reports using an energy drink, pre-workout powder, stimulant gummy, or performance supplement.

Recognize

What to notice before you act

1/5

The situation

An athlete brings, shares, or reports using an energy drink, pre-workout powder, stimulant gummy, or performance supplement.

Observable signs and patterns

The exact product and current label are unknown.
The athlete is using it to replace sleep, food, or hydration.
Use is escalating, shared among teammates, or hidden from the household.
There are palpitations, tremor, anxiety, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain, or altered behavior.

May be routine

A question before use with the exact package available for adult review.
The athlete accepts a food-, fluid-, and sleep-first alternative.

Needs attention

Use is repeated, combined with medication or other stimulants, or hidden.
The athlete has symptoms, cannot identify the ingredients, or is pressuring teammates to use it.

Respond

What to say and do today

2/5

Opening script

Neutral questions to ask

1What is the exact product and serving label?
2When and why are you using it?
3Have you taken more than the label serving or combined products?
4Are you taking any medication or managing a health condition?
5Have you felt a racing heart, chest pain, tremor, anxiety, vomiting, dizziness, or trouble sleeping?
6Does your parent or guardian know about it?

Actions for today

Do not distribute or endorse the product; follow current school and athletics policy.
If there are no symptoms, preserve or photograph the label for the parent and health professional rather than guessing from the brand name.
If symptoms are present, stop activity and involve the athletic trainer or emergency pathway.

Do not do this

Do not provide a caffeine or stimulant dose.
Do not assume a product is safe because it is sold in a store or carries a sport-looking label.
Do not shame the athlete or turn the conversation into a public punishment.

Act

Green, yellow, and red decisions

3/5

Green · Question before use

No ingestion or symptoms
Exact label can be reviewed with an adult

Use the handout to identify product type and choose the food-, fluid-, or sleep-first alternative.

Yellow · Use without acute symptoms

The athlete has used the product
Medication, repeated use, sharing, or unknown ingredients are involved

Contact the parent or guardian and athletic trainer, pharmacist, or physician for individual review; follow school policy.

Red · Adverse symptom or overdose concern

Chest pain, fainting, seizure, severe agitation, confusion, breathing difficulty, persistent vomiting, or suspected excessive ingestion

Stop participation, stay with the athlete, activate the school's emergency action plan, and contact the parent or guardian through the approved process.

What happens to training

green: Use ordinary fueling and hydration; no stimulant trial is part of practice.
yellow: Hold product use and adjust participation if sleep loss or symptoms impair safety while the health team reviews it.
red: Stop participation and activate emergency care.

Implement

Make the response repeatable

4/5

Implementation objective

Separate sports drinks from stimulant products and prevent coach endorsement or team sharing.

Weekly routine

1.Publish the school product policy.
2.Teach label identification using packages, not brand assumptions.
3.Keep ordinary snacks and fluids available.
4.Use one adverse-symptom response pathway.

Resources needed

Current school policy
Package-photo comparison handout
Parent message
Emergency contacts

Owner: Athletic director owns policy; athletic trainer owns health escalation; coaches enforce no-sharing rules.
Cadence: Review preseason and when a new product appears.
Cost and purchasing: Do not use team funds for stimulant products; budget for ordinary food and hydration access instead.

Who should be involved

Parent or guardian

A minor has used or plans to use the product.

Athletic trainer, pharmacist, or physician

Ingredients, symptoms, medication interactions, or health conditions need review.

Athletic director

Team sharing, sponsorship, storage, or school policy is involved.

Follow up and refer

Close the loop without becoming the clinician

5/5

Follow-up timing

Confirm parent handoff the same day; recheck sleep, symptoms, and use within one week.

Questions to recheck

Was the exact label reviewed?
Did any symptom occur?
Is the product still being shared?
Was the underlying food, fluid, or sleep gap addressed?

How to know the response is working

The athlete can distinguish product categories.
No coach-endorsed stimulant use or team sharing occurs.
Individual questions are owned by a qualified health professional.

Copy-ready parent message

Brief documentation template

Exact product name and label sourceReported amount only in the athlete's words, without dose adviceSymptoms observedPolicy actionAdults contacted

Evidence and scope

Open the paired athlete handout