Thunder starts during training – do clubs have a written weather policy?

Yes, I would have one club-wide weather process. England Football published updated thunderstorm guidance in 2026 and it applies to grassroots training as well as matches. The starting point is checking forecasts and following current weather guidance rather than waiting until lightning is overhead. I’d do the same organisationally for heat, frozen surfaces and high winds: who checks, who has authority to cancel, how families are notified and what the safe fallback is. A written policy also stops one team training while another team on the next pitch has decided the exact same conditions are unsafe. Coaches still need judgement because venues and conditions differ, but the club should give them a framework. For thunderstorms especially, do not improvise based on whether the session has only ten minutes left. Safety decisions should be made before pressure to finish the football changes the judgement.