UMD rolls out mobile cooling center to keep athletes safe during extreme heat
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Six years after the death of University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair because of Heat Stroke, the school is the first in the country to use a new tool to protect athletes.
The idea of letting athletes hydrate and cool off in the middle of practice or a game in temperatures like these isn’t new. Maryland Football Coach Mike Locksley told FOX 5 they’d put players in meat lockers to help them lower their body temperatures.
But what is new is how they’re doing it.
It’s called MOSH — it's best to think of it as a mobile cooling center, but the difference here is that it’s fully solar-powered, off-the-grid, and it’s going to be parked next to the outdoor practice facility as this team gets ready for the season.
Jordan McNair’s father, Marty, runs a foundation aimed at preventing heat-related injuries and deaths in honor of his son.
"Prevention is the key. We want to prevent heat stroke. We want to catch heat exhaustion before it gets to heat stroke that’s when things become tragic if you don’t operate and move quickly," McNair said.
Family of Jordan McNair working to protect other athletes
This month marks five years since University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair died during a team practice. Since then, his family has worked to educate people about the warning signs, and now there is even legislation in Maryland to create emergency plans for athletes experiencing heat-related illnesses. Jordan's dad, Martin McNair stops by "The DMV Zone" to talk about his work so far.
FOX 5 spent some time inside the trailer. Players would rotate in and out during practice, spend a few minutes, sit, and hydrate as they’re blasted with air conditioners and lowering their body temperatures.
The company that makes it is based in Texas and its original intention was to help provide the power necessary to power oil fields.
CEO Shawn Bryan knows Maryland Coach Mike Locksley, who asked if this essentially big solar-powered battery could help his players.
"I’ve known Coach Locksley for a long time, he’s been a very dear family friend, and I was telling him about MOSH, he was saying that would be great if we could make one, and make it a cooldown center. And I was like, you know what, and of course we spoke about Jordan, because that’s always been a big part of Mike’s heart, is how do I protect my kids, so I said let me go to the drawing board and we’ll get back," Shawn Bryan said.
UMD hasn’t made a decision on whether or not to purchase one, but this particular unit will be around for summer practices.
CEO Shawn Bryan says he hopes more and more athletics programs and municipalities that can be used for everything from cooling centers to heating centers to a command center to electric vehicle charging station.
"The main goal is to have a preventative measure in place, and that’s really the main thing with sports-related tragedies. It’s always about emergency action plans and prevention, was the emergency action plan followed? Were they in position? Did they follow it? So when you have these types of things on campus or in place, these are the types of things that save lives," said Marty McNair.