Nutrition

Many children arrive home from school and head straight to the refrigerator for a snack. There is nothing wrong with moderate snacking, since youngsters have high levels of activity and may need more calories than three meals a day provide to meet their energy needs. For many children particularly those who are quite physically active - snacks can help round out their nutritional requirements and provide as much as one fourth of their calories. In general, occasional snacks will not ruin their appetites for regular meals, as long as the snack is not eaten shortly before they sit down to lunch or dinner. Snacks are another opportunity for parents to provide healthy food choices to their children while reinforcing good eating habits - learning to get hungry, rather than eating to feel full all the time.

When snacking, children often reach for the closest food at hand. If your cupboard has cookies in it, that is probably what your child will eat. However, if there are healthier items in the refrigerator or on the kitchen table, your youngsters will become accustomed to snacking on these foods. The healthiest and simplest choices are fruits and raw vegetables, which require little if any preparation. Encourage your child to make healthy snacks a habit by keeping fruit and cut vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, celery, peppers, broccoli) handy.

Just a reminder. Our players need to eat the right types of foods. I realize when both parents are working it is sometimes difficult to eat the right foods. However, if you want your athlete to develop and perform to their full potential you need to make the right foods available to them.

For strong bones, especially for young girls, calcium is the number one ingredient. Milk is the most popular choice, however sometimes milk is not for all kids. Orange Juice with Calcium is a great alternative.

For strong muscles, meat and poultry and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed by kids are miniscule compared to the burgers and tacos they eat so you can't go wrong with pushing the fruits and vegetables. (by the way, Orange Juice does not take the place of fruits)

We will be practicing and playing during some of the hottest times of the year. It is extremely important that the players are getting plenty of water. Gatorade is even better during and after practice if you can afford it.

I am not a professional nutritionist nor a professional athlete. I just hate to hear from players that they are hungry before a game or practice. Please make sure your kids eat a good lunch. I scheduled the practice so that the players should be ready to eat dinner.

So make it easy for your athlete to make the right choice by having plenty of the right foods readily available.