Healthy Snacks Before Soccer

If you've heard your whole life that snacking is bad, playing soccer can turn that notion on its head. "Snacking can be the healthiest thing you do," says registered dietitian Debra Wein in a special edition on soccer for "NSCA's Performance Training Journal." Snacks can fill nutrient gaps in your diet if you focus on food involving yogurt or low-fat pudding, especially if you rarely eat dairy. Even more important, healthy snacks for soccer prime you to have the fuel you need to finish strong in each half of the game.

Suggestions

Anyone who has ever watched a youth soccer game has seen the ubiquitous orange segments passed out at halftime -- also recommended for before the game. The authors of "Food Guide for Soccer," sports dietitian Nancy Clark and soccer journalist Gloria Averbuch, suggest fresh or canned fruits and juices before the game. They also agree with Wein on the value of flavored yogurt. "Food Guide for Soccer" also lists crackers, fig bars, pretzels, leftover pasta or energy bars as possible healthy snacks before soccer, as well as simple biscuit-type cookies or animal crackers. The nutrition council that advises FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, further agrees with its suggestions of 8 oz. of flavored yogurt or 8 oz. of fruit juice before a game.

Timing

A snack is part of the steady fueling that has your muscles primed to train or play for 90 minutes or more. Allow three to four hours for a large meal to digest, one to two hours for a blended or liquid meal and less than an hour for a small snack. Test how large a snack you can tolerate and how long you need to consume it before the game starts. You may only be able to have a small pretzel or graham crackers, according to "Food Guide for Soccer."

Importance

Well-timed snacks can play a deceptively important role. Averbuch and Clark cite evidence that most goals are scored in the last five minutes of the first and second half of a game, with World Cup goals often coming between the 76th and 90th minute of a match. Even at the youth soccer level, you don't want to give up a crucial goal because you ran out of gas.

Warning

Sports scientist Donald T. Kirkendall of the University of North Carolina notes the prevalence of junk snacks at games and tournaments around the country. "Everyone who has ever been to a soccer field on a weekend has seen this," he says in a column for the online site of US Youth Soccer. Soda, sweet drinks, potato chips, fries and candy bars are typically on sale at tournament sites. Instead, he recommends carbohydrate-replenishment drinks, pretzels or raisins for post-match recovery combined with refueling before the next game in a tournament.