Fueling High School Athletes
Do your goals match your athletes?
While most are looking to excel and compete, often there are additional (and some times stronger) reasons they’re on the team such as…
- matching (or defying) social norms
- impressing peers / parents
- appeasing parents
- preparing for another sport
- changing their body shape / appearance
- wanting to succeed at something
If you’re a coach, you may want to consider checking in with your athletes (anonymously) to see why they’re there. If they’re there to make others happy, they may not find as much motivation (or joy) in crushing workouts. Additionally, if someone is there to change their physical appearance, it can make food the enemy rather than an ally which affects performance. BUT if you know their motivations, you can shift your messages to inspire your athletes and create a joyful season – no matter why they’re there.
Fueling challenges
Now that you have an understanding of their motivations, let’s talk through some of the fueling challenges I see in clinic.
CHALLENGE #1 – Skipping lunch
“you can only eat low calorie foods”
“can’t eat __[insert food here]__”
“you can’t actually like the school lunch”
“I’m too big to enjoy food”
“I’m not allowed to be seen eating in public”
“you get teased for eating like a girl / like a man”
“I forgot to pack a lunch”
“I don’t like school lunch / school lunch is gross”
“I’m not hungry”
“I forgot my money”
“I don’t have time”
What you can do…
Bottom line, it all results in “just not eating.” And as we discussed in a previous blog post about fueling sport, lunch is perhaps one of the most important meals for young athletes!
As a coach or parent, avoid preaching and try to understand the situation (and be glad you’re not in high school). Try to give as much positive support and reinforcement as possible that connects with the reason they’re on your team in the first place.
CHALLENGE #2 – Low quality meal choices
- If they have a peer group who always goes out for pizza or fried food, they will likely follow along.
- If they are trying to lose weight, they may be afraid to eat real fuel (eg, fat, starch) and wind up consuming inadequate energy over all (eg, just a salad or snack foods won’t cut it!). On top of that, if their peers are going to a place the teen feels won’t serve their physical goal, they may end up skipping overall or buying something they don’t want, and barely eat.
- If they feel judgement about eating “well” (eg, starch, vegetables, protein), they may resort to proving to their peers otherwise by buying the food with more fat / sugar / starch (or whatever food they feel is “bad”)
- If they skipped breakfast, they may be starving by lunch, making fried foods and desserts more interesting
What you can do
Similar to above, preaching doesn’t always override those internal motivations and can actually wind up making the teen feel guilty / ashamed. It means they’ll either hide from you (or their peers). Instead, help them find balance (not perfection) where they are.
For example. . .
- If they’re stuck going to a pizza joint because of their friends,
explore sandwich / wrap options or explain how pizza can fuel a workout - If they’re confused about whether food if fuel or evil, help them understand the value of energy in performance
- If they’re being teased about eating, give them confidence and support to do their own thing
- If they’re skipping breakfast, help them figure out breakfast / snack options on the go
CHALLENGE #3 – Nothing packed for after school
There are a lucky few teenagers have a parent packing food for them throughout their day. But most teens are responsible for their own food choices and planning isn’t in everyone’s agenda. Some don’t have time, others don’t have space to store food, and some don’t know what to bring (or why it matters). Still others have a social circle that hits the convenience store after school – so what’s the point in packing?
But for most athletes, lunch is at 12-1pm and then practice starts at 3pm – the body is ready (and needs) more fuel to perform for the 1-3 hour practice!
What you can do
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Moral of the story…
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