Hydration level can directly affect your performance. Most of us walk around in a state of slight dehydration. If you get to the point of feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated!
Friday Night/Saturday Night
Avoid fried foods like hamburgers and French fries. Greasy pizza toppings like pepperoni and sausage, and buttery breadsticks can make you feel sluggish the next day also. This doesn’t usually affect kids as much as it does adults, though. J
Saturday morning/Sunday morning
Most kids should eat at least 45min to an hour before game time. This varies for each child, and you will know their own child best. There are no “breakfast rules”, although you may want to avoid a frosted donut and sugary cereals. Yogurt, bagels, toast, waffles, fruit, and cereal are usually offered at the hotels for breakfast and are a good way to fuel before a long day. Make sure there is some form of protein. If you are eating only waffles and fruit (carbohydrates), drink a glass of milk, or have yogurt with it to get the protein. This is an important time to hydrate as well. Drink at least 8 oz of water or juice at breakfast or pregame.
Saturday post game 1 THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME TO REFUEL!
Your muscles have stored energy called glycogen. When you play a soccer game that energy gets used up, which is part of the reason that your legs are tired after a game. It takes 24-48 hours to completely rebuild the full amount of glycogen stores. If you play one game in the morning and use it up, your legs will be tired for the second game later that day because you won’t have much stored glycogen. You can use food strategically to help rebuild your glycogen stores more quickly. In the first 20 minutes following your game, your muscles do a really good job of accepting and storing glycogen. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME TO EAT! Carbohydrates combined with protein help your muscles recover.
WITHIN 20 minutes post game, 40 minutes post game, then every 2 hours
Chocolate milk, peanut butter and jelly on white bread, banana and milk, jelly beans, protein drinks (Special K makes a good one), McDonald’s ice cream cone (lower fat), turkey sandwich
What you might think of as “healthy” may not have the highest glycemic index which is what raises the blood sugar more quickly allowing it to be processed and stored as glycogen in the muscles. White bread has a higher glycemic index than wheat bread, for example.
Remember to keep hydrating between games! Kids tend to get bored with water for the entire day and don’t drink enough. Sports drinks are important when your activity lasts for more than an hour, or you have more than one event in the same day. They replace electrolytes that are lost during activity. Some contain high amounts of sugar, which is not bad when only consuming one or two bottles per day. The low sugar varieties (G2 for example) are just as good at replacing electrolytes and hydrating as the full sugar variety. It’s personal preference.
I would be happy to try and answer any nutrition questions or direct you to the correct resource!
Mandy Niemiec, RD
Mandy_niemiec@yahoo.com
FOOD CAN PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN HOW YOUR CHILD PEFORMS AND FEELS WHILE THEY ARE COMPETING