One Death is too Many

Across the United States, over 1,500 colleges support athletic programs in sports such as football, basketball, baseball, and track, with more than 500,000 student-athletes competing each year across NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA divisions. At the high school level, over 8 million student-athletes participate in sports across more than 26,700 schools nationwide.

In addition to sports, approximately 285,000 to 315,000 first responders—including police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and military trainees—engage in intense physical conditioning regularly.

Whether on the field or in uniform, these individuals face increased risks of sudden cardiac arrest, exertional heat stroke, exertional sickling due to sickle cell trait (SCT), and exercise-induced asthma. The Peak Performance Safety Training (PPST) program was created to protect lives through education, early recognition, and prevention strategies for everyone who pushes their physical limits.

Why We Do What We Do

Our mission is simple: No athlete or first responder should start the day and not finish it.

Preventable tragedies from exertional heat stroke, sudden cardiac arrest, exertional sickling (SCT), or asthma should never claim another life. PPST exists to educate, protect, and empower—because every life matters.

See the Facts for Yourself

Don’t just take our word for it—explore the data below to understand why PPST is essential for athletes, first responders, and anyone pushing their physical limits.

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US citizens carry the sickle cell trait, putting them at risk of death if they engage in intense exercise (Click to learn more)
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High school athletes are treated for exertional heat illness each year (Click to learn more)
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High school and collegiate student athletes died as a result of nontraumatic exertional fatalities from 1998-2018 (Click to learn more)
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Young athletes die from sudden cardiac arrest each year (Click to learn more)
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Increase in exertional heat stroke (EHS) deaths per year in football per study (Click to learn more)
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High school football players in the U.S. have died from heat stroke from 1992 to 2024 (Click to learn more)
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Increased risk of exertional-related death in military recruits and college athletes with SCT (Click to learn more)
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Law enforcement recruits have died during basic training in the last decade, via exertion, dehydration, heatstroke, and other conditions tied to intense exercise (Click to learn more)
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Division I college football players have died since 2000 from exertion-related illnesses suffered during a workout or practice (50% were due to ES via SCT) – (Click to learn more)
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Division I college football player deaths due to ES via SCT since 2018 – Kudos NCAA!

Remember These Faces

This collage is a tribute to the young lives lost too soon—Division I football players, police cadets, and first responders who died while training from sudden cardiac arrest, exertional heat stroke, exertional sickling due to sickle cell trait (SCT), or exercise-induced asthma.

They trained hard. They showed up. But they didn’t go home.

Their stories are the reason PPST Academy exists. We remember their names, share their stories, and work every day to make sure it never happens again.

A Message to Student-Athletes and First Responders

You owe it to yourself—and those who count on you—to understand the real risks that come with intense physical exertion. Knowledge can be the difference between life and death.

A Call to Parents, Coaches, Trainers, and Leaders

Let’s stand together to protect our student-athletes and first responders in training. By raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, exertional heat stroke, sickling due to sickle cell trait, and exercise-induced asthma, we honor the lives lost and prevent future tragedies.

Our 60-minute course delivers the critical knowledge needed to stay safe while performing at your best.

Don’t wait—enroll today. Lives depend on it.