High School hockey typically involves playing games in the late evening, and because this is somewhat new to most of us, I’ve been doing some research into nutrition and rest. The best I could find was on what and when to eat prior to games. With this information perhaps you can develop a schedule that will help prepare for the games.

Yes. Just like a racecar you can't expect to win an Indianapolis 500 without the right fuel in your tank. Unfortunately, everyday hockey players around the world run out of gas in the middle of a game and struggle just to finish simply because they forgot to re-fuel before they played

Two hours before a game or practice you should have a small pre-game snack.

Complex Carbohydrates that will digest slowly and provide long-term energy like bagels, muffins, toast, cereal as well as fruits like bananas and oranges. Sports nutrition products can also be an excellent source of energy and can be part of your pre-game snack. These products are designed to give you the right balance of nutrients as well as digest properly for athletes."

You should try to avoid foods that either upset your stomach or may give you short term energy. Things that upset your stomach include milk and spicy foods. Chocolate bars, candy may give you a short-term energy boost but tend to cause a real energy drain within a short time and actually hurt your performance more than help it.

Yes. Even a small loss of 2% body fluid from sweating during a game can have a significant impact on your performance. They key is to drink approximately 14 – 20 ounces (or 400 - 600 mls) of fluid before you play to give yourself some insurance against dehydration during the game.

You should start your pre-game hydration routine two hours prior to the start of your game or practice. Over the course of first hour you should try to consume 14 – 20 ounces (or 400 –600 mls) of fluids such as sports beverages, fruit juices and water. You should stop consuming fluids in the immediate hour before you play. DO NOT DRINK A LOT OF FLUIDS IN THE HOUR IMMEDIATELY BEFORE YOU PLAY. The problem with drinking extra in the last hour is that your kidneys will be stimulated and your urine production will be increased. This will make you go to the bathroom a lot and can actually de-hydrate you.

As part of your pre-game hydration routine, you should try to have a glass of fruit juice or a sports beverage approximately two hours before you play. Although there is nothing wrong with drinking water, fluids like sports beverages and fruit juices, which contain a small percentage of carbohydrates, have been shown to help accelerate the absorption of fluids into your system and help prevent dehydration.

You should try to avoid fluids like soda pop (can cause intestinal cramping), coffee and alcohol. These fluids also tend to increase your urine production. This will cause you to go to the bathroom more and can lead to dehydration.

• Non White Breads, Cereals (check labels, stray from the granolas), Pasta without meat and cheese, Vegetables uncooked, steamed or cooked in a small amount of water, Fruits, clear broth Soups (no cream style).

HIGH PROTEIN, LOW FAT FOODS

• Tuna in water, Fish, Chicken, Turkey, Lean Beef all broiled or baked, Skim Milk, Non Fat Cottage Cheese (very healthy), Non Fat Yogurt (good Carbo), Egg Whites.

NO NOs

• Butter, Ice Cream, Hot Dogs (loaded with saturated fat and chemicals), Big Mac, Bacon, Sausage, Egg Yolks, Cheese (more negatives than positives), Cookies, Cakes, Doughnuts.
• Soda is bad before and after an event especially the ones containing caffeine as they DEHYDRATE YOU.

Along with all of this you could have a game day schedule something like:

Home at 2:30 - 3:00 PM

3 to 4 or 5 -- Homework

5 to 6 ---------Nap

6 to 7 ---------Eat dinner based on the above recommendations

7 ---------------Leave for 8:00 game.

This obviously will be adjusted for later games and the nap can be removed for earlier games. But since most of the boys get up in the morning at 6:00 or so, they will be running on a 16-hour day at the start of some of these games, so a nap won’t hurt.

You also should follow the nutrition suggestions for our early morning practices.

Notice that HOMEWORK comes first. If you’re not passing your courses, you won’t be playing.