A nutritious diet helps players get through the steep demands of soccer, with its games of continual motion and weekend tournaments. Food stands at tournaments serving pizza, burgers, hot dogs and soda won't help youth players in the closing moments of a match, according to Massachusetts-based soccer coach Michael Jones on Soccer-Tournament-Guide. To avoid a sluggish finish by your team, teach them good nutrition as well as dribbling and passing.
Warning
Provide parents with a list of foods to avoid serving their children at the pregame meal and during the week while training or practicing, Jones advises. The list needs to counsel against hot dogs, roast beef, steak and hamburgers, which tend to sit in the stomach without quick digestion; sugary foods, including soda and doughnuts; and processed items, such as potato chips. Phil Davies, a certified trainer, concurs. He suggest players eat only limited amounts of red meat, cheese, pork products, fried foods, whole milk, butter and margarine.
Time Frame
Encourage the players to eat a big meal four hours before a game, including yogurt or two bagels with peanut butter, and a light meal such as fruit salad, a sandwich and low-fat milk two hours before kickoff. An hour or less before the game, players can have a medium banana or granola bar as a light snack. After games, have the kids refuel with high-carbohydrate foods such as a grilled chicken sandwich and a baked potato, roast beef on a whole-grain roll, a turkey sub, or pasta or rice with vegetables.
Significance
Muscles in the body derive energy from glucose, a form of sugar, Davies says. The body stores glucose in the form of glycogen. Stores of glycogen can get rapidly depleted, in the leg muscles particularly, during a game, especially if your players haven't built up enough calories during the training week to keep up with soccer's calorie demands.
Features
Nutritionists who consult with pro soccer teams and Davies agree that complex carbs, combined with some simple carbs, should form about 65 percent of your players' diet. Carbohydrate-rich foods include bread, potatoes, pasta, fruits, vegetables and cereal. Include oatmeal, bran and brown rice, which take the body longer to digest and are thus more likely to be turned into glucose rather than fat. Unprocessed complex carbohydrates also contain more vitamins and minerals.
Benefits
Good nutrition can also reduce your chance of injury, according to Davies. The main cause of injury is fatigue, and proper foods provide sustained energy throughout an entire practice or game.
Expert Insight
Nutrition professor Jennifer Anderson at the Colorado Sate University Extension worked up a sample high-carb menu for endurance athletes such as a soccer players. Breakfast includes orange juice, oatmeal, a banana, 8 oz. of low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast and jelly. Lunch includes a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich on whole-wheat bread with lettuce and tomato, as well as apple juice, skim milk and two cookies. Dinner features spaghetti with tomato sauce with mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, French bread, and strawberries and cream.
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