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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Maximizing Player Performance

Fueling for performance
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Presented by Gatorade Sports Science Institute

By their very nature, football coaches are always looking for the latest drills to teach championship-winning techniques, for the best strategy for goal-line offense and for effective adjustments by defensive secondaries guarding a one-back offense. But perhaps it’s the intangibles that have greater impact on a team’s performance: psychology, strength and fitness training and – last but not least – nutrition.

Coaches have not always been exposed to these fields of study, but they have a definite impact on performance.

“I am in my 45th year of coaching varsity football,” said Brent Steuerwald, head coach of Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, N.Y. “I have seen a lot of change during that time frame. With all the scientific research, our thinking has changed, but many coaches have yet to catch up.”

Often times it is up to the coach to provide their athletes with enough practical information to help them understand the importance of nutrition every day.

“Close to 60 percent of the kids that I work with do not eat breakfast,” said Jackie Berning Ph.D., R.D., a nutrition consultant and assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. “Some athletes do not even eat lunch. But then they show up for practice and they wonder why they can’t perform. Well, their empty light has been flashing all day. However they attempt to drive through a two-hour practice and that is where fatigue and injury plays a factor.

“I tell young athletes that if their classes start at 8 a.m. and they don’t roll out of bed until 7:45 a.m., then their goal is not to be a better player. They must make time for breakfast.”

Eating to win ...

The mentality of most athletes is that if they don’t play until the weekend, there is no need to worry about their diet until game day, right? Wrong!

“Failure to eat properly is like putting diesel fuel in a tank that requires super-unleaded gasoline,” said Berning, who has worked as a nutritional consultant for the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Indians. “You can’t even back out of the driveway, much less drive down a football field for four quarters.”

“This is a 7-day-a-week endeavor,” added Leslie Bonci, M.P.H., R.D., a nutritionist for the Pittsburgh Steelers and director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “One pregame meal does not make up for a week of poor eating habits.”

To start the week off right, an athlete, who has a game on Friday, should begin incorporating more carbohydrates into the diet on Tuesday. Usually an extra serving of pasta, rice or bread will do sufficiently. (See sample menu below)

After adding an extra serving of foods with carbohydrates on Tuesday, the athlete should continue to add high carbohydrate foods on Wednesday and reinforce with an extra glass of fluid. On Thursday, the day before the game, an athlete should incorporate both carbohydrate foods and fluids with some added salt to the diet (i.e. pretzels, an extra sprinkling of salt on foods and sports drinks).

On Friday (game day), start off by drinking a sports drink like Gatorade. The sports drink will help hydrate the body and provide crucial carbohydrates and electrolytes (sodium, potassium) needed to perform at optimum levels.

“An athlete should never eat anything on game day that they do not normally eat,” said Bonci. “Some athletes feel that it is hard for them to eat before a game due to nerves, therefore a sports drink is perfect about an hour or so before the game.”

Also, watch out for caffeine.

“Caffeine is not a source of energy,” said Bonci. “The only thing that gives your body energy is food. An athlete may experience a rev to their system, but they soon crash. Energy drinks with lots of caffeine simply have no substance.

“Steak (meat) and potatoes used to be the staple of a pregame meal. On game day it could weigh an athlete down, while pastas and breads are excellent sources of carbohydrates and are easily digested for a quick source of energy.

“Some days you feel like a cheetah,” added Berning. “Other days you feel like you are hooked to a train. Whatever you have eaten in the past 24 hours usually dictates your overall body performance. So if you ate junk, you probably feel like junk.

“Athletes fail to fuel themselves during the week for practice which is counterproductive. Practice is what prepares an athlete for the performance on game day. Coaches have always told me that if they get a good week of practice out of their athletes, then they usually translate that into wins on game day.”

Food Examples for Meeting Carbohydrate Needs for 200lb Athlete... Click here for diagram (large image)

Road trip tips ...

It is not hard to understand just how important proper nutrition is in fueling the body for performance, but convenience can often impair an athlete’s decision-making processes. If it is not quick and easy, many athletes will simply avoid it. Unfortunately, most foods considered to be quick and easy are not always healthy and beneficial.

“One of the best things for athletes is cereal,” said Berning. “An athlete does not need to know how to cook in order to eat cereal. Either with milk or without, it makes for a perfect carbohydrate snack. And I am talking about a whole grain cereal not a sugar-loaded breakfast cereal. You can even add fruit.”

For high school coaches who are faced with limited time and budgets, booster clubs and parents make excellent benefactors. By buying boxes of peanut butter crackers, cereals, pouches of tuna, yogurt, jars of peanut butter, sports drinks and assorted nuts and grains for trail mix, athletes can have an ample supply of healthy, nutritious food that will fuel their body for performance while on the bus headed to the big game.

“Some schools have to go to a fast-food restaurant before the game,” said Bonci. “But they should at least try to choose a quick-serve restaurant that has some healthier choices like sub sandwiches or a salad bar.”

Feeding recovery ...

Research has shown that an important factor for an athlete’s body when recovering from a hard-fought football game is timing.

“There is a 30-minute window of opportunity to properly begin refueling an athlete’s body after exercise,” said Bonci. “Fruit, granola bars, peanut butter and sports drinks will help an athlete’s body begin combating aches and pains, and it will help the athlete prepare for the next day of practice or weight training.”

Proper hydration is crucial in cognitive thinking and optimal performance. It is also critical to provide plenty of products containing sodium, such as nuts, pretzels and sports drinks to athletes to reduce the risk of cramping. The extra sodium will replenish salts that were depleted during competition and necessary in aiding in the retention of fluids. Proper hydration is crucial in cognitive thinking and optimal performance.

“Remember, it is important to replace lost fluids after practice or after a game,” added Steuerwald. “For every pound of weight loss, an athlete needs to drink at least 20-24 ounces of fluid.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

• A professional football player ate one peanut before a game that turned out to be the best of his career. The player attributed his success to eating the peanut. Before the next few games he began eating more peanuts, a handful, then several handfuls, then the entire stadium-sized bag. He was even eating the shells on the nuts. Needless to say, he began having fairly severe cramps and intestinal problems during games and asked the sports nutritionist for advice. The player was taught that carbohydrates are better sources of energy before a game, and too many high-fiber and high-fat foods can cause intestinal distress during physical activity. Once the player was reminded that his good performance was likely due to hard training and overall healthy diet, he was able to gain confidence in his abilities alone.
• A professional football team began practice days at 9 a.m. Almost all of the athletes skipped breakfast, fell asleep during meetings and had little energy. The sports nutritionist persuaded athletic trainers and coaches to provide breakfast of items such as cold and hot cereals, juice, sports drinks and fruit. Immediately players were more alert for meetings and practices. The team had two seasons of back-to-back championships. A similar story was reported for a championship professional basketball team. – Jackie Berning, Ph.D., R.D., Nutrition Consultant and Assistant Professor, University of Colorado - Colrado Springs






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