All Day Events

During all day competition and training, carbohydrate foods and drinks may delay the onset of fatigue.  However, if eating at concessions stands, these choices may be difficult to find.   Bringing foods from home is a good alternative to the snack bar.  Listed below are “good” and “bad” foods for competition.  “Bad foods will say in the stomach longer and impair performance.  Drinking plenty of water and fluids is VERY IMPORTANT.  

After the Game

As soon as the kids stop exercising, give them water to replace body fluids.  Also give them complex carbohydrate sources to replenish their glycogen stores. The body is most efficient at absorbing and storing energy (glycogen) during the first 4 to 5 hours after exercise.  The after game meal is probably most important than the pre-event meal because it determines how much energy the athlete will have for the next game or training session.  Immediately after training or competing, consider having the young athlete choose from the following suggestions:

¨                  Medium bagel (50 grams carbohydrate)

¨                  Pretzels (23 grams carbohydrate per one ounce)

¨                  Fruit yogurt (40 grams carbohydrate per 8 ounces)

¨                  Large banana (40 grams carbohydrate)

¨                  Cranberry-apple juice (43 grams carbohydrate per 8 ounces)

¨                  Orange juice (28 grams carbohydrate per 8 ounces

About 2 hours after exercising, kid athletes should eat a meal that contains mostly carbohydrate: yogurt and fruit, cheese and bagel, vegetable pizza, or spaghetti and meat sauce.  You can follow the guidelines given for pre-event meals and include more protein and fat.  

Meals on the Go

Convenience foods are often chosen because of tight time schedules.  Although the amount of time available may seem to outweigh nutrition considerations, the two need not conflict.  Fast food chains are becoming more health conscious and offering a wider variety of healthier foods.  When stopping at the fast-food restaurant, remember to focus on finding low-fat, high carbohydrate foods.  Be a role model yourself!!!  Providing young athletes with food guidelines will help them to pick put high-performance foods from almost any menu or food aisle.  Of course, it is also important to let kids be kids!!  An occasional ice cream cone, candy bar or bag of chips is completely acceptable.  However, they should be eaten only occasionally in addition to high-performance foods, not in place of them. The following gives some suggestions:  

Strolling down the grocery aisles