In 2008 while coaching at Stanford University, our founder, became the Director of Coaching of the Palo Alto Soccer Club. The club trained and played most of the games on Turf Fields. When it was hot outside the turf would heat up and he noticed players walking on their tippy toes, heels, standing on one leg and pouring water on their feet. The water only complicated the issue because now the players feet were hot and the water on sweaty feet led to blisters. Our founder went online and looked for solutions but could not find any.
Years later his children began playing soccer and when they played on turf they started complaining and telling me “Dad my feet burn”. As a coach you try and solve problems, now the problem was affecting him personally, his kids. After continually failing to find any solutions online, he decided to create his own solution for this problem. It started basic at first, he tried foil, so many different types of foil. Then he went to different fabrics; paints, reflective tapes, socks, and combinations of all of the above.
The testing was state-of-the-art! He bought a crock pot, filled it with sand, and bought a laser thermometer. He then grabbed some of his kids’ old cleats and started measuring the heat in the sand and the different heat in the shoes with different combinations. Finally with some help from John, Greg, Marc, Erik (brother) and the support of his family and friends the original Blusol Heat Shield was brought to life. This truly is a family business because without all the help and support Strikesol (formerly Blusol) would still be a thought and a problem for many kids and other people’s feet across the country.
Our founder took the soles out of the crock pot and headed to the turf. Looking like a crazy person, he walked soccer fields with cleats on and a laser thermometer in one hand. He ran test after test and created prototype after prototype. Placing the soles in soccer players’ shoes, lacrosse players, football players, tennis players, runners, firemen, policemen, soldiers, and construction workers – he wanted to know how they performed and what different people of all ages thought.
We are fired up (pun intended) to say the StrikeSol Inserts work! They help prevent feet from burning, and the results vary based on the outside temperature, surface temperature, and type of footwear you are wearing. However, StrikeSol Shield Inserts help regulate the temperature of your feet!
