A cool new way to find Southern comfort
AccuWeather's Dexter Henry visited the Louisiana State University football program to see how the Tigers are using a state resident's creation to combat players training in the extreme heat and humidity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Paul Boudreaux didn’t know that his favorite NFL team since childhood, the New Orleans Saints, were interested in what he could do for the team. But when the Saints called saying Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis wanted to see him, Boudreaux cut short his vacation and drove to New Orleans.
“I’m tickled to death to be able to help the Saints,” Boudreaux told The Daily Advertiser.
Boudreaux wasn’t worried about being stuck on the bench for the Saints: He wanted to provide the bench.
He invented the Body Recovery Zone, essentially a refrigerated freight container used to lower the body temperatures of athletes working out amid high heat and humidity. In Louisiana, where his company, Boudreaux Athletics, is based, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures routinely top 100 degrees.
The 2-year-old creation has been used by many top NFL and college football teams, including the Saints in the NFL and NCAA teams like Alabama, Clemson, LSU, and Florida State, among others. Some, like LSU, buy the units at prices that vary depending on customization, while others, such as Florida State, rent them at a cost of $15,000 a month that includes delivery, pickup and maintenance.
LSU players hydrate and sit in the Body Recovery Zone to lower their core body temperature. (AccuWeather)
Summer can be deadly for football players, who often start full team practices in August. Those at risk run the full range of abilities, from those in the Pro Bowl such as the Minnesota Vikings’ Korey Stringer, who died of heatstroke in August of 2001, Maryland’s Jordan McNair who died last year, to two high school football players who died as a result of workouts earlier this summer.
“July and August are what we call our deadliest months,” Dr. Samantha Scarneo told AccuWeather. Scarneo is the vice president of Sport Safety at the Korey Stringer Institute, whose mission includes preventing sudden death in sport.
Boudreaux’s invention addresses the heat issue in a simple but obvious way. “You just gotta have some recovery time and a way to cool them off,” Boudreaux told AccuWeather reporter Dexter Henry. “God forbid you have an emergency. And that’s how we developed [this]. Cool them off as quick as possible.”
The Saints first used the Body Recovery Zone, which is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 10 feet high, in 2018 and it was set at 25 degrees. Players hydrate and sit in the unit for 5 to 8 minutes or so. It’s more effective than standard misting fans and open-air misting tents, according to Payton.
“It’s basically a cool truck,” Payton told The Daily Advertiser. “So instead of that tent at 67 degrees, that truck’s at 25 degrees. We can get a position group in there to cool their core body temperature down. By far, that’s the most efficient unit I’ve seen.”
Boudreaux has sold regular football equipment to Southeastern Conference schools, other area colleges and high schools since 2002. He believes his new creation has uses beyond just football.
“Other industries will see a need for it,” Boudreaux told AccuWeather, “and they can develop it and adapt it to what their needs are.”
Additional reporting by Dexter Henry.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the forecast for your location. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
