Help Your Student Athlete Reach Their Full Potential

Want to support your athlete in maximizing their potential, but not quite sure how? Use these quick tips to nudge your athletes while still promoting independence.

1. Make healthy snacks easily available – Get away from packing snacks for your child, but give them the tools necessary by having healthy snack options available. This will improve their odds of making healthy and well balanced fueling choices. Often, we pick carbohydrate rich snacks. These tend to include items like fruit snacks, chewy bars, and potato chips. These foods are ok in moderation, but we should also have high quality snack options available that include both carbohydrate and protein options. This will make it easier for your athlete to choose healthful snacks that refuel their bodies. Some examples include cheese and crackers, yogurt and fruit, jerky and an apple, or hard-boiled eggs and popcorn.

2. Help your athlete hydrate – One of the easiest ways to improve performance and general health is hydration. Encourage your athlete to carry a reusable water bottle so they have around the clock access to hydrating fluids. If your athlete doesn’t enjoy drinking water, consider some infused water by adding strawberries, blueberries, cucumber, watermelon, oranges, or basil. You can also serve hydrating foods and beverages such as smoothies, soups, herbal tea, watermelon, and cucumbers.

3. Promote a healthy relationship with food – Avoid diet culture talk in your house. Conversations about calories and weight for performance can add stress and sometimes be misinterpreted by your young athlete. Even if comments about food choices are meant with the best intentions, they can sometimes end up sending the wrong message. Try to focus on specific performance goals like improving sprint times or endurance rather than weight goals. Instead of commenting about portion sizes or calorie content, ask your athlete about what else they ate in the day and provide gentle corrections if you notice meals or snacks are being skipped. These conversations can be tricky to have, especially if your child isn’t interested in talking about it with you. Don’t be shy about seeking the help of a Registered Dietitian to help promote healthy fueling habits!