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CRUSA Elite 95
Jeff D'Aoust
P.O. Box 285
Richboro, Pennsylvania
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CRUSA Elite 95: Nutrition
Thursday, June 25
Best fruits to eat before a game
Best fruits to consume 2-3 hours before the game!!!

The Best: Size and Quantity

Banana 1 medium
Apple 1 medium
Grapes (red or green) 20-25 grapes
Oranges 1 medium


Very Good:

Pear 1 medium
Cantaloupe ¼ of a melon
Strawberries 8-12
Blueberries 25-30 blueberries

Good:

Watermelon 8-10 1 inch cubes
Grapefruit ½ of a grapefruit
Kiwi 2 medium
Plum 2 medium

Tuesday, October 21
Choose the right foods

Here's the link to excellent article on eating right:  Start Your Engines: The ABC's of Sports Nutrition

http://tinyurl.com/5ldmss

Wednesday, August 16
Sports and Match Nutrition
The article below does a good job of describing the foods and fluids needed by young soccer players before, during and after a match.

Here are what I considered to be the key takeaways:

1. A breakfast of low-sugar, whole-grain cereal, low-fat milk, and orange juice eaten at least two hours beforehand is perfect.
2. Most young soccer players do not drink enough fluids during a game. This can dramatically effect their level of play. When players become dehydrated, their body temperature rises and they become tired quicke
3. Studies have shown that players who drink a sports drink containing electrolytes can delay fatigue and are less likely to get muscle cramps than players who only drink water.
4. New research from leading exercise science laboratories is showing that sports drinks that contain protein in the right balance with carbohydrate can delay fatigue even longer than a sports drink that only has carbohydrate
5. After exercise, athletes need more of the same nutrients they need during exercise. The simplest way to kick-start the recovery process is to have your players continue drinking a sports drink with protein. Fruit, sandwiches, and low-fat energy bars are also good recovery foods.


Coaching Nutrition

by: Thomas Rongen

According to a study presented recently at a meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, coaches are the number one source of nutrition information among young athletes. I honestly don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. But since it is the reality, I think it’s very important that soccer coaches offer their players some basic nutritional guidance, because we can’t count on their getting it anywhere else. And, of course, it is equally important that the guidance we do provide be accurate, relevant, and practical.

The nutrition habits of many youth soccer players are poor. This is true even of the players I coach on the U-20 National Team. They may be a lot more talented than the average player, and perhaps more motivated, but they are just as likely to live on potato chips and soda as the next kid.

Because youth soccer coaches don’t feed their players, there’s only so much we can do to improve their nutrition habits. I gladly talk about nutrition with parents who express an interest and I’m certain that some of my players pass along the information they learn from me to their mothers and fathers. But I’m wary of stepping on parents’ toes, so I focus mainly on influencing what players eat and drink before, during, and after practices and games. And you can do quite a lot to improve players’ fitness, performance, and recovery by teaching them to take in the right nutrients in the right amounts at these times.

Start with a Full Tank

Preventing fatigue starts with the pre-exercise meal. The job of the pre-exercise meal is to make sure the player’s body is well stocked with fluid and carbohydrate before each practice and game. The meal should be mainly carbohydrate with a little protein and little or no fat. A breakfast of low-sugar, whole-grain cereal, low-fat milk, and orange juice eaten at least two hours beforehand is perfect.

Low- and moderate-glycemic carbohydrate sources such as whole grain cereals are preferable to high-glycemic carbohydrate sources like donuts because they provide more lasting energy. In a Penn State University study, one group of athletes ate a rolled oats cereal (moderate-glycemic) while another group ate a puffed rice cereal (high-glycemic) before a stationary cycling test. Both breakfasts contained 75 grams of total carbohydrate. Those who ate the rolled oats cereal were able to cycle significantly longer than those who ate the puffed rice due to greater glucose availability.

Along with sugary foods, foods that are high in fat, such as whole milk, should be avoided in pre-exercise meals because they slow digestion. The other important consideration is timing. The ideal is to eat a complete meal about three hours before exercise. Eating less and/or earlier could result in low energy reserves by practice or game time. Eating later could result in nausea or cramping.

Water Is Just the Start

Most young soccer players do not drink enough fluids during a game. This can dramatically effect their level of play. When players become dehydrated, their body temperature rises and they become tired quicker. Therefore, it’s important that you encourage your players to drink as frequently as possible during practices and games. And sports drinks are a better choice than water. Not only do they provide fluid, but they also replace electrolytes such as sodium and potassium that are lost during sweating. Studies have shown that players who drink a sports drink containing electrolytes can delay fatigue and are less likely to get muscle cramps than players who only drink water.

Another benefit of a sports drink is that it provides carbohydrate energy. In a high-intensity sport like soccer, most of the player’s energy comes from carbohydrate stored in the muscles. When this fuel supply is depleted, the athlete becomes exhausted and unable to perform at his/her best. Drinking a sports drink that contains electrolytes and carbohydrate can help your players conserve muscle energy and extend endurance.

Most sports drinks do not contain protein. However, new research from leading exercise science laboratories is showing that sports drinks that contain protein in the right balance with carbohydrate can delay fatigue even longer than a sports drink that only has carbohydrate. So some of the newer sports drinks are now including protein. In one study, athletes who used a carbohydrate/protein sports drink during exercise had a 24% improvement in endurance when compared to those who used a regular carbohydrate sports drink. Protein in a sports drink may offer an additional advantage in helping muscles recover faster following hard exercise.

Better Recovery

After exercise, athletes need more of the same nutrients they need during exercise. They need more water and electrolytes to replace the body fluid they lost during the practice or game. They also need more carbohydrate to restock their muscles, because it’s not possible to replace carbohydrate as fast as it is burned during exercise. And they need more protein, too, in order to repair the muscle damage that occurs during intense exercise. And they need to get all of these nutrients as soon as possible after the practice or game is completed.

Research has shown that athletes who take in these nutrients immediately within 30 minutes after a hard workout recover much faster and perform better in their next workout than athletes who wait or who eat foods that are high in fat, which slows the uptake of carbohydrate and protein.

The simplest way to kick-start the recovery process is to have your players continue drinking a sports drink with protein. Fruit, sandwiches, and low-fat energy bars are also good recovery foods. Players should avoid eating high-fat foods after exercise because fat slows the deliver of other nutrients to the blood and muscles.

Nutrition plays a very important role in sports performance and recovery. Most youth players understand this, but they don’t often know what and when they should eat and drink and their actual nutrition habits are typically far from the ideal. Coaches are in a good position to educate their players about proper sports nutrition and change their habits for the better. It’s worth making the effort. You'll see the results on the field.

Thomas Rongen

Thomas is Head Coach of the U.S. Men's Under-20 National Soccer Team. He is the former Head Coach of three Major League Soccer Teams: the New England Revolution, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, and most recently, D.C. United. He was named MLS Coach of the Year in 1996 while with the Mutiny and won the MLS Cup in 1999 with the United. Born and raised in the Netherlands, Thomas played professional soccer in his homeland and the United States. He has also coached at the collegiate level.


 
 
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