I also send out an email to all parents, or guardians, on the youth football list. I copy and paste the same information from the web site to the email. This is a double protection to make sure no one shows up. I keep a general rule of posting all changes or cancellations of practice by 4pm local time. That is one hour and 15 minutes before I start practice.
As far as when to cancel a youth football practice depends on many factors including
- Age of my team
- Time of the season
- How well the team is doing
- Upcoming opponent
- General safety
There is a general rule we have that is the same as the swimming pool. If there is lightning, we have to suspend youth football practice for 20 minutes. If there is a second bolt of lightning then practice is called off.
I spend a lot of time on youth football practices days looking at weather.com, especially the radar maps. If it looks like heavy rain or lightning, I just cancel the practice.
The other consideration is the field condition. The facility may have a stipulation that if there is standing water you cannot be on the field. Make sure you know the rules to avoid any problems.
Having a plan ahead of time to handle cancellation of practices is one of the jobs you have as a head coach of a youth football team.
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