Basketball Nutrition

What your basketball players eat every day can have a big effect on how they perform. What they eat right before a basketball game can be critical. Wrong choices can be disastrous. Right choices can give your team that competitive edge.

While the pregame meal is critical to supplying your basketball players with the energy they need,“  it does not “make-up” for poor nutrition throughout the week.  Basketball players should eat the right kinds of food for several days before a game to charge up their muscles with glycogen. Glycogen is a key energy source your muscles use during most sports activities. Although the pregame meal won’t cause large increases in muscle glycogen, it will:

* Help avoid hunger during the game

* Stablize blood-sugar levels and add some food energy to complement existing energy stores of muscle glycogen

* Hydrate the body (supply water to the body’s cells)

* Provide a relatively empty stomach at game time

* Prevent gastrointestinal upset or other adverse reactions to food

No one pregame meal is right for every basketball player,“  but some food choices are much smarter than others. Make sure you meet with your team and encourage them to follow these guidelines:

* Allow enough time for digestion. Eat the meal at least two hours before an event.

* Choose a food that’s high in starch. Starch is easy to digest and helps steady“  blood sugar.

* Consume only moderate amounts of protein. Protein foods take longer to digest than starch.

* Limit fats and oils. They take too long to digest and will leave your players sluggish on the court

* No Candy Bars!“  Sweets can cause rapid energy swings in blood sugar levels and result in low blood sugar and less energy.

* Avoid foods and drinks that contain caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the body to increase urine output, which can contribute to dehydration problems, and a full bladder can be very uncomfortable.  Talk to your basketball players about what food and drinks contain caffeine

* Within these guidelines, encourage your players to chose foods they like to eat.

* Fluid-UP- make sure you players are drinking water in the locker room before your games.