The Coach Calls the Family; the Family Calls the Athlete's Physician
- Share specific observations with a parent or guardian; do not diagnose.
- The pediatrician or family physician is the first clinical door.
Aspire Parent Resources
When to Seek Professional Help
Parents and coaches do not need to diagnose the issue. They need to recognize when the pattern is beyond normal sports nutrition support.
The decision point is not whether the athlete has a confirmed diagnosis. The decision point is whether the pattern is affecting health, intake, or training enough to need a clinician.
Bottom line
Coach calls the parent or guardian; family calls the athlete's physician.
Getting checked is how you protect your season
- Always tired, sick a lot, or sore bones are signals from your body.
- A doctor can help find out why. Coaches and parents cannot, and they should not guess.
- Asking for help early is easier than waiting until you are hurt.
Do this:
- Tell a parent or coach if food feels scary or stressful.
- Go to the doctor visit, even if you feel fine.
- If a teammate faints or has chest pain, get an adult now.
Try this week: Pick one adult you would tell if something felt wrong, and know how to reach them.
Not true: you have to be really sick before you can ask for help. Early is easier.
Familiar products to recognize
Start with the food category. Tap a package for one recognizable brand example, then swap within the category for access, tolerance, culture, budget, and allergens.
Put it into practice
Escalate When Food Fear or Rigid Control Shows Up
- Act on skipped meals, cut food groups, or panic around eating.
- Obsessive weighing or body checking raises concern quickly.
The Early Signs Often Look Like Normal Athlete Struggles
- Fatigue, repeated flat sessions, slow recovery, and frequent illness matter.
- Stress injuries or sudden performance drop matter even more.
Collapse, Chest Pain, Severe Confusion, or Immediate Danger Bypass the Referral Chain
- Call 911 for a medical emergency; call or text 988 for a suicide crisis.
- Stay with an athlete who may be in immediate danger.
Referral Guide
When to Seek
Professional Help
Do this
Why it matters
Who to Call
The Coach Calls the Family; the Family Calls the Athlete's Physician
Share specific observations with a parent or guardian; do not diagnose.
Food Behavior
Escalate When Food Fear or Rigid Control Shows Up
Act on skipped meals, cut food groups, or panic around eating.
Urgent Now
Collapse, Chest Pain, Severe Confusion
Call 911 for a medical emergency; call or text 988 for a suicide crisis.
Cheese crackers: Goldfish Cheddar crackersThe decision point is not whether the athlete has a confirmed diagnosis. The decision point is whether the pattern is affecting health, intake
*Coach calls the parent or guardian; family calls the athlete's physician.
@AspirePerformanceRD
When to Seek Professional Help
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The decision point is not whether the athlete has a confirmed diagnosis. The decision point is whether the pattern is affecting health, intake, or training enough to need a clinician. Coach calls the parent or guardian; family calls the athlete's physician.
Real product examples
Familiar packages, easier choices
Start with the food category. Brands are recognizable examples, not required choices; swap within the category for access, tolerance, culture, budget, and allergens.
Cheese crackers
Packaged fig bars
Bottled water
Packages are examples, not endorsements. Image sources and rights notice.
Use this when
1
Food rules, skipped meals, or body checking that keep escalating.
2
Fatigue, stress injuries, or performance decline with no training explanation.
3
A coach and parent comparing notes and wondering if it is 'bad enough' to call someone.
Cheese crackers: Goldfish Cheddar crackers
Packaged fig bars: Nature's Bakery fig bars
Bottled water: smartwater Original
Applesauce pouch: GoGo squeeZ applesauce
String cheese: Sargento Light String Cheese
Granola bar: Nature Valley granola bars
Carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink: Gatorade Thirst Quencher
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: Uncrustables PB&J
Parent or Guardian
Coach's First Call
Physician
Family's First Call
Coach Prompt
Name the observation, contact the family, and hand the clinical decision to the athlete's physician.
WHO TO CALL + WHEN
Who to Call
The Coach Calls the Family; the Family Calls the Athlete's Physician
Share specific observations with a parent or guardian; do not diagnose · The pediatrician or family physician is the first clinical door
Food Behavior
Escalate When Food Fear or Rigid Control Shows Up
Act on skipped meals, cut food groups, or panic around eating · Obsessive weighing or body checking raises concern quickly
Performance Clues
The Early Signs Often Look Like Normal Athlete Struggles
Fatigue, repeated flat sessions, slow recovery, and frequent illness matter · Stress injuries or sudden performance drop matter even more
Urgent Now
Collapse, Chest Pain, Severe Confusion, or Immediate Danger Bypass the Referral Chain
Call 911 for a medical emergency; call or text 988 for a suicide crisis · Stay with an athlete who may be in immediate danger
REFERRAL PATH
Who Makes the Call
Coach
Shares specific observations with a parent or guardian and does not diagnose.
Family
Books the pediatrician or family physician, the first clinical door.
Treatment Team
When one already exists, use the family's agreed contact and plan.
Emergency
Collapse, chest pain, severe confusion: 911; suicide crisis: call or text 988.
Coach Reminder
Notice the Pattern
Health, eating, and performance all count
Speak Calmly
Concern opens doors better than control
Refer Early
You do not need certainty to ask for support
Built by an RD who coaches · Luke Rodriguez, MS, RDN · Palmer Ridge HS XC
The lesson · one sheet, three readers
When to Seek Professional Help
Page 3 of 3Runner, family, and coach read the same idea at their own level. Reviewed · Luke Rodriguez, MS, RDN
For the runner
Getting checked is how you protect your season
- Always tired, sick a lot, or sore bones are signals from your body.
- A doctor can help find out why. Coaches and parents cannot, and they should not guess.
- Asking for help early is easier than waiting until you are hurt.
- 1Tell a parent or coach if food feels scary or stressful.
- 2Go to the doctor visit, even if you feel fine.
- 3If a teammate faints or has chest pain, get an adult now.
Try this week: Pick one adult you would tell if something felt wrong, and know how to reach them.
Not true: you have to be really sick before you can ask for help. Early is easier.
Coach: say this
- To the family, privately: I am not diagnosing anything. I am seeing a pattern I would want checked if this were my kid.
- Here is what I have seen: three flat sessions in two weeks, skipped lunch on the bus twice, and a shin that keeps hurting.
- To the athlete: getting checked is how we protect your season. I am asking your family to book it, and I am on your side.
- To the team: if someone collapses, has chest pain, or seems confused, you get me or the trainer that second. Stay with them.
Why it works
The early signs of under-fueling look like ordinary athlete struggles: fatigue, flat sessions, slow recovery, frequent colds, so waiting for the athlete to look unwell usually means waiting too long.
A physician can rule out medical causes and open the right referrals; a coach who shares observations, not conclusions, keeps the family as decision-maker and keeps the athlete's trust.
Bone stress injuries and fainting can be late signs; collapse, chest pain, or confusion is a medical emergency, so it bypasses the referral chain and goes straight to 911.
Don't say
- “Let's wait and see if it gets better.” Early is easier than certain; you do not need proof to ask the family to call.
- “I think she has an eating disorder.” That is a diagnosis; share what you saw and when, and let the physician decide.
- “She just eats really healthy.” A 'healthy eating' story can hide restriction; the pattern, not the label, decides.
Refer whenFood fear, skipped meals, cut food groups, body checking, or unexplained fatigue, stress injury, and falling performance: name what you saw to a parent or guardian this week and hand the clinical decision to the physician. Collapse, chest pain, or severe confusion is 911; a suicide crisis is 988.
Ask themWho is the adult you would go to if a teammate seemed to be in trouble?
For families
The coach calls you; you call the physician
- You do not need a diagnosis to book the appointment, only a pattern that is affecting health, eating, or training.
- The pediatrician or family physician is the first door. Bring specifics: what changed, when it started, and what you have seen about eating, energy, and mood.
- Ask for a sports dietitian referral, plus mental-health support if food fear or body distress is part of it. The athletic trainer can help coordinate.
- If your runner resists, anchor to what they care about: getting checked is how the season gets protected. Do not negotiate away the appointment.
Watch for · Any of these, repeating: skipped meals, cut food groups, panic around eating, body checking, lasting fatigue, stress injuries, a sudden performance drop. Book the physician this week. Collapse, chest pain, or severe confusion is 911 now; suicide crisis is 988.
Built by an RD who coaches · Luke Rodriguez, MS, RDN · Palmer Ridge HS XCBuilt forParentCoachCoach-led discussion
When to use this
The moment a pattern stops looking like normal athlete struggles — this sheet helps adults decide to refer instead of wait.
- Food rules, skipped meals, or body checking that keep escalating.
- Fatigue, stress injuries, or performance decline with no training explanation.
- A coach and parent comparing notes and wondering if it is 'bad enough' to call someone.
Finish before you close this page
Turn the sheet into one physical commitment.
Identify the observable concern, the adult receiving it, and the private handoff channel.
Done looks like: The concern is documented without diagnosis, scoring, or a public team conversation.
Advanced lab
The referral playbook
The sheet says refer early. Who to call in what order, what to say, and how coach and parent coordinate are here.
- First call
- The pediatrician or family physician is almost always the right first door — they can rule out medical causes and start the right referrals. Bring specifics: what changed, when it started, and what you have observed about eating, energy, and mood.
- Building the team
- Ask specifically for a sports dietitian referral, and for mental-health support if anxiety or food distress is part of the picture. The athletic trainer can often coordinate between school and clinic.
- The coach-parent handoff
- I'm not diagnosing anything — I'm seeing a pattern I'd want checked if this were my kid.' Sharing observations rather than conclusions keeps the family as the decision-maker and keeps the athlete's trust.
- If the athlete resists
- Anchor to what they care about: getting checked is how the season gets protected. Do not negotiate away the appointment — resistance to help is common and is not a reason to wait.
This framework supports early referral, not diagnosis. Any concern about rapid weight loss, fainting, or an eating disorder goes to the athlete's physician promptly, with an eating-disorder-informed sports dietitian added to the team.
Where to go next
ToolWalk the referral toolA guided pass through the red flags and the right provider for each pattern.
TopicKnow when to referUse observable concerns to prepare the family and clinician conversation without assigning a diagnosis.
TopicStart the food conversationFor the parent seeing the signs at home, this sheet gives the calm first response.
From one handout to a repeatable team system
You can use this handout today. Program Access installs it into your season.
Free
- Print this handout
- Share it with athletes or families
- Use the coach prompt and written commitment
Program Access adds
- The exact week to use it
- A parent email already written
- A two-minute team talk
- A staff-owner checklist
- The matching planning tool
- Family portal access
Coach: Open the matching week, deliver the team talk, assign the staff owner, and verify the written action.
Family: Send the editable family message, share the handout, and keep the same next action visible in the family portal.
Content version: 2026.08.26Content pass: August 26, 2026Next source review due: February 26, 2027Emergency links checked: August 26, 2026
Immediate danger or a medical emergency: call 911. Mental-health crisis support: call or text 988. Eating-disorder screening, treatment search, and support options: current NEDA Get Help center.