Basic Nutrition when your Team is on the Road

Basic Nutrition Facts*:

• Sports scientists generally recommend a high-performance diet, consisting of 20 percent fats, 15 percent proteins and 65 percent carbohydrates.                  
• Eating too much bad fat is the easiest way to increase one’s percent body fat, and excess body fat can interfere with performance in many sports.  Saturated fats are classified as bad and include severaly meat and dairy products, as well as anything containing hydrogenated oil.  Good fats can be defined as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and should be included in every athlete's diet.  An example of a good fat product is olive oil.          
• Athletes need protein for the development of muscle tissue during strength training.  Encourage athletes to make selections from low fat sources of protein and to eat a variety of foods containing both animal protein and plant protein.                 
• Encourage athletes to avoid concentrated or refined carbohydrates, such as table sugar.  Encourage them to get their energy from potatoes, corn, beans, rice and whole-grained cereals, breads and pastas.  

Pre-game Meal*:

• The meal should be easily digested and out of the stomach before competition starts.                 
• Athletes should eat at least three hours before a contest and avoid fats, which can cause nausea.                 
• Avoid too heavy or too light a meal.                 
• Think of your student-athlete like your car.  A half a tank of gas will make it on a short trip; a full tank won’t make the car run any better.  The same can be true for your team.

Post-game Meal:

• For every hour of practice or competition, student-athletes may need 500 or more calories of energy.                 
• When fast food is necessary, educate student-athletes on the nutritional value of their orders.

*  Information provided by Successful Coaching by Rainer Martens.