Pennine Soccer Players & Families:


Pennine Parents:

 

Please take the time to read the following article and help your child understand what it means to 
eat a healthy and well balanced diet in order to live well, learn well and perform well.

 

The information is a bit technical so it may not be appropriate for the younger players to actually sit and read it all  but it something that all of the parents can read and help interpret and relay the information to their child.  We will continue to educate the players as well but we are not usually with them when they are making choices on what to eat so we are counting on you to help us in this respect.

 

Although this article is geared toward tournament performance, much of this can also be applied to daily nutrition choices & habits, not just tournament nutrition.


http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jhwms/SOS/Soccer%20Nutrition.pdf


 

I have also attached the article to this email. 

 

One of the dilemmas when traveling to tournaments is always what to do about breakfast for the early morning games.  We are often limited by what the hotels provide but if you plan ahead and bring your own healthy options then you can often solve the problem ahead of time and it is often cheaper as well.

 

Some of the key points are the choices for what to eat and what to avoid.  For instance pancakes are ok but avoid the syrup that goes with it. So if your child cannot eat pancakes (or waffles) without dousing them with syrup, then help her to choose something else!

 

Avoid:

Breakfast sandwiches from fast food restaurants – loaded with fat & grease

Muffins – loaded with sugar & fat.  The attached article mentions low-fat muffins but as with any of the low fat options, be sure to read the labels, as often times low-fat = more sugar! This is often the problem with granola bars – some of the them are no better than candy bars – read the labels first!!

• Sugar Cereals
• Doughnuts
• Pop-tarts
• caffeine

 

Healthy Options:

• Whole Grain Bagels
• Yogurt & Granola
• Breakfast Cereal with low fat Milk (choose a low-sugar cereal)
• A small egg
• Fruit

 

Other highlights – When eating carbs, also balance it out with some lean protein and vegetables.  A Balanced diet (carbs, protein, fats – the good kind)  is the key. 

 
Additional resources:

·         FIFA’s recommendation for soccer nutrition: this is a rather long booklet but is very informative and is separated into different sections for every level of soccer.  There is a section for female players, youth players etc.

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/medical/nutrition_booklet_e_1830.pdf

·         Common Myths on Soccer Nutrition – document attached

REMINDER for tournament/travel nutrition guidelines below and attached.  This information has been sent out before and is intended for ALL club players to follow in order to be at their best each and every day.

 

For this weekend in particular, you already have the game details  but here are some additional guidelines:

 

Friday/Saturday

We realize that some of you have chosen to travel back and forth to/from Toledo while others have chosen to stay at the hotel.  Regardless of your accommodations, we expect each of you to follow the team guidelines as outlined below.

 

Saturday

• Plan ahead for a meaningful breakfast (see guidelines below and attached)
• Plan for healthy snacks between meals & games (see guidelines below and attached)
• Post game meals – Chocolate Milk immediately after game ends. Players need to eat within 1 hr after the game ends in order to refuel and still have time to regenerate their bodies and then get to bed on time. (see guidelines below and attached)
• NO SWIMMING prior to games.  Players can swim for up to one hour  1 hr after last game of the day on Saturday.
• REGENERATION – take care of injures & soreness/muscle fatigue by stretching, icing, massage, ice baths, etc.  Do what is necessary in order to recover quickly and be at your best!
•   Curfew – Players need to be in bed ready to go to sleep by 10:00 PM

 

Sunday

• Same as above!