Feeding Teams

If a high school team gets to have an organized pre-game or a post-game meal, often times it’s the coaches or the parents that might make the call on what the menu will look like. At the college and professional level, many teams have dietitians assisting with menu creation but not always - sometimes it is coaches, athletic trainers, strength coaches or even the operations staff. The general nutrition recommendations that many sport staff in charge follow are:

Pre-game meal

• About 3 hours prior

• Emphasis on carbs + Moderate protein + Less fat (for optimal energy and GI tolerance)

Post-game meal

• As soon as possible after the game

• A balanced meal with protein + carbs + some fat (for optimal recovery)

Timing, budget, facility logistics, and a head count need to be considered.

To promote optimal nutrition and performance of our athletes we want to avoid:

1. Nutrition composition of the meal being completely disregarded (ex: when the coach just shows up to the field with a box of doughnuts… uh oh!)

2. Rigid menus the athletes don’t even want to eat!

One could argue the doughnut would be better than nothing because our athletes do benefit from breaking their overnight fast with a breakfast before their competitions, but if we compare the doughnut to a PB&J, the PB&J will provide longer lasted energy and is typically pretty easily digested. (Of course, those who need gluten free can opt for their GF bread here and for our nut-free folks a Sunflower Seed butter can work well here too!)

Let’s dig a little deeper at the other extreme- a well-intentioned parent, coach, athletic trainer or even dietitian, may decide to set up that pre-game meal “by the book,” so they go with something like this:

Pre-game: Veggie & egg white wraps and fresh fruit salad

Post-game: Quinoa bowls with chicken and steamed broccoli

Nutrition? Carbs + lean proteins + low in dietary fat

Success? Not so fast…. The rigidity of these meals often times might not lend themselves to adequate consumption by many of the athletes and consequently in an attempt to feed them they team might actually be significantly under-fueled.

The solution? Flexibility!

If the budget allows… bagels, English muffins, toast and cereals are other faves that may work well too. We can emphasize carbs to fill and re-fill athlete’s energy storage tanks (muscle glycogen) and also offer menu options that they may look forward to eating which would promote adequacy. As for the eggs… they can have the yolks…and they should! Read more here!

What about post game? Well… the number one goal is adequacy so let’s refuel with things they are likely to want to eat. How about chicken parmesan and pasta? Pair with a side of their preferred roasted veggies or fruit and you have 3-Step Meal that they will dig into to maximize the recovery process. If some of the team members need a gluten free option, make sure the pasta is swapped out for rice and not just eliminated without a replacement (just grilled chicken and veggies post-game will leave athletes under-fueled and hangry! :)

What’s your go-to pre-game fueling strategy?