Why heat dumping is important to me

Why I Do This

My entire professional career has been spent helping athletes fully experience the joy of playing the sports they love. Because sports are more than just wins and losses– they are an outlet, a refuge, a way to challenge ourselves, build friendships, and shape our identities. For some, sports are how they release stress. For others, it's how they prove who they are. But no matter why someone plays, one thing is true across the board: the more you can express your abilities, the more you can enjoy the game.

That’s why I care about solving the problem of heat. Because when the environment limits you, it takes something away from the experience. And worse, most people don’t even realize it’s happening.

The Moment It Clicked

People often ask me why I spend so much of my time and energy thinking about heat, especially because I’m not being paid to do it. What am I getting out of it?

It goes back to that core belief. It’s really hard to enjoy the sport you love when you have to do it in unforgiving conditions.

I remember playing summer soccer leagues in Atlanta. The kind of heat where you walk outside and feel like you’ve stepped into an oven. Mid-game, a teammate would play a perfect pass into space, and I’d sprint to chase it down. But I could feel my energy draining in real time, even over a single 30-yard run. 

I’d stare across the field, watching the heat ripple off the pitch, wondering if it was real or just my first step towards passing out. My feet burned inside my cleats, my patience wore thin, and my focus dissolved like the ice in the water bottle I’d love to be drinking in the shade. Jogging back on defense felt performative, as each step probably only covered several inches.

Same sport. Same teammates. But on days like these, I wasn’t enjoying it. Not in the slightest.

And if you’ve played in these conditions, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Heat sucks. It steals the joy out of doing what you love.

The Misconception About Heat

Most people believe heat is just part of the game. That it’s something everyone deals with and can’t be controlled. So they don’t put much thought into it.

But that’s wrong. Heat is not just discomfort– it’s a limiter. It prevents athletes from playing at their best, staying present in the moment, and experiencing true flow. And worst of all, it’s been accepted as inevitable.

How We Change That

The truth is, we can do something about it. Heat dumping is a simple, effective way to remove this invisible limiter. When you cool the body efficiently, you don’t just perform better; you get to fully express your abilities, focus on your game, and enjoy the sport the way it was meant to be played.

And isn’t that the whole point?

If we can help athletes stay in the moment, compete at their best, and love the game even in brutal conditions, why wouldn’t we?

Because when you strip everything else away, that’s why I do this. Not just to fight heat, but to help people experience the full joy of playing the sport they love.