Template A9

Early-warning checklist

Your early-warning system on one page: a few inputs, a threshold for each and the action for each flag, agreed with medical staff.

How to use it

Work through the five steps in order. Do not leave with a blank one.
Walk the finished page past your medical or physiotherapy contact and have them sign it.
Brief athletes and staff before the first flag fires.

The five steps

Inputs chosen: three or four, fitted to our sport. Four is the ceiling.
Thresholds set for each input, from each athlete's own baseline.
Escalation tiers defined: what counts as yellow, orange and red.
Actions decided in advance for each tier, in writing.
Everyone briefed: athletes know that an orange flag means "modify, not punish".

Inputs and thresholds

Examples by setting. Outdoor team sport: ACWR, weekly strain from sRPE, sleep duration, subjective wellness. Endurance sport: ACWR, HRV trend, sleep, wellness. Indoor team sport without GPS: weekly sRPE load, ACWR from sRPE, sleep, wellness.

Input	Threshold	Where the number comes from

Example
Input	Threshold	Where the number comes from
ACWR (sRPE-based)	Spike above 1.5	Load calculation sheet (Template A4)
HRV trend	1, 2 or 3 SD below the individual mean	Athlete profile (Template A3)
Sleep duration	Below 7 hours for 3 consecutive nights	Wearable
Subjective wellness (5 items)	Drop of 1 point or more from baseline	Morning questionnaire

Tiers and actions

Tier	Trigger	Pre-decided action	Who is involved
Yellow
Orange
Red

Example
Tier	Trigger	Pre-decided action	Who is involved
Yellow	One input, one SD below the individual baseline.	Monitor. Ask the athlete how they feel. No change to the session.	Coach and athlete.
Orange	Two SD on one input, or yellow flags across several inputs.	Reduce intensity or volume by a set amount (for example 30%). Discuss with the athlete.	Coach, S&C coach, athlete.
Red	Three SD on any input, or symptoms reported.	Substitute the session. Escalate to medical staff for review before the next exposure.	Coach, S&C coach, medical staff.

Sign-off

Squad and season

Reviewed by (medical or physiotherapy contact), on

Athletes and staff briefed on

Next review of the system

The examples are the inputs, thresholds and actions of the early-warning system builder in Module 4.