With the fall sports season beginning, the nation's 30 million middle and high school athletes face challenges like never before. Participation is at an all-time high, but so, too, is competition for roster spots, playing time and athletic scholarships.
The challenges facing the mothers of athletes are equally daunting. Today's sports moms do much more than juggle schedules and drive athletes to and from games (though six out of ten shuttle their kids to sports practices and games three or more times a week). (1) Moms are committed to going the extra mile to ensure that their kids are well-rested, well-nourished, well-hydrated and mentally prepared to perform at their best, both in the classroom and on the playing field.
To help your kids achieve peak performance, I recommend the following ten-point "game plan" to address time, nutrition and performance concerns common to sports moms:
1. Blow the Whistle at Bedtime. Practices before and after school, homework, texting and screen time don't leave teens enough time for sleep. Studies show teenagers need nine hours of sleep but only get about seven. (2)
2. Breakfast: Take 2! Everyone has heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, studies consistently show that more than half of all teenagers skip breakfast. Not only do teens that eat breakfast get better grades (3), but breakfast helps athletes to recoup the energy lost overnight, and raises blood sugar to healthy levels so they can access energy stores in their bodies needed for schoolwork and sports.
3. Fuel the Burn: Active young athletes are calorie-burning machines [1] who in some cases need at least 3,000 calories per day for peak performance. This means they need to be eating very frequently. And, while these athletes should be less concerned with counting calories, they should try to consume calories that count.
4. Use Sports Sense to Power Schoolwork: Great athletes are disciplined, focused and push themselves to achieve in their sport. Moms can encourage students to use these same qualities to manage their school load as well:
5. Be Pro-active about Hydration: Dehydration can lead to heat-related illness and takes a toll on performance by making it more difficult for the body to function properly. Moms should be concerned about proper hydration all year round - regardless of whether athletes are exercising indoors or out - because, no matter the season, athletes are always sweating! Staying hydrated during the school day is particularly challenging because athletes often can't or don't remember to hydrate properly or regularly. Indeed, studies show4 [2] that many athletes are dehydrated before they even start their sport, making it difficult to catch up.
6. Fuel Sports Nutrition Gaps: Athletes need to be properly fueled before, during and after sports to get the most out of their bodies. The school year presents extra challenges. There is typically little time in the school day for athletes to eat before practice or competition, so they start on an empty stomach or choose ineffective sources of fuel based on what's readily available. And there is often a time gap between the end of a practice or game and sitting down to dinner when, studies show, tired muscles need protein to recover.6
7. Teach Calm, Mom: Tweens and teens are under more pressure today than ever to perform to adults' expectations. As they try to deal with the pressure of standardized tests and to live up to their parents' expectations, it's no surprise, then, to see such anxiety during sports competitions. But simply telling an athlete to relax while they are playing, without teaching them to how, can actually increase pressure and anxiety they feel.
8. Practice Active Listening. Pick the right time and place to talk about her performance after a game.
9. Set Boundaries while Promoting Independence. A recent study7 found that a parenting style that promotes autonomy helps kids perform at their best on the playing field.
10. Don't Forget the Fun. Youth sports may have become more and more about competition and winning, but the number one reason kids - even at the high school level - play sports is because they enjoy the game.8 Athletes need to love the sport they are playing to reach an elite level. If the pressure to succeed becomes too great and they no longer have fun, they'll quit, no matter how skilled.
1. Sabo, D. and Veliz, P. (2008). Go Out and Play: Youth Sports in America. East Meadow, NY: Women's Sports Foundation
2. Owens, Judy A., and Jodi A. Mindell. Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep: The All-in-One Resource for Solving Sleep Problems in Kids and Teens, New York: Marlowe & Company, 2005.
3. Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2005) May;105(5):743-60; International Journal of Obesity (2003) 27, 1258-1266; Timlin, M. Pererira, M. Story, M. Neurmark-Sztainer, Breakfast Eating and Weight Change in a 5-Year Prospective Analysis of Adolescents: Project EAT (Eating Among Teens): Pediatrics (2008); 121(3): e368-e645.
4. Walker M. Casa, D, Levreault M, Psathas E, Sparrow S, Decher R. Children Participating in Summer Soccer Camps are Chronically DehydratedMed & Sci in Sports & Ex. (2004); 36(5): S180-181; Desher N, Casa D, Yeargin S, Levreault M, Cross C, McCaffrey M, Psathas E. Attitudes Toward Hydration and Incidence of Dehydration in Youths at Summer Soccer Camp" Med. & Sci in Sports & Ex. (2004); 37(5): S463.
5. Gisolfi CV, Lambert GP, Summers RW. Intestinal fluid absorption during exercise: role of sport drink osmolality and [Na+]; Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001; 33:907-915.
6. Ivy J, Goforth HW Jr, Damon BM, McCauley TR, Parsons EC, Price TB. Early postexercise muscle glycogen recovery is enhanced with a carbohydrate-protein supplement.: J Appl Physiol. 2002; 93(4):1337-44.
7. Holt NL, Tamminen KA, Black DE, Mandigo JL, Fox KR.Youth Sport Parenting Styles and Practices" Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. 2009; 31(1): 37-59.
8. Hyman, M. A Survey of Youth Sports Finds Winning Isn't the Only Thing." New York Times (January 31, 2010), http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/sports/31youth.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Dari [5]... (accessed August 6. 2010); Josephson Institute of Ethics. What Are Your Children Learning? The Impact of High School Sports on the Values and Ethics of High School Athletes (February 16, 2007) http://josephsoninstitute.org/pdf/sports_survey_report_022107.pdf [6] (accessed August 6, 2010); Gould D, Carson S. Fun and Games? Myths Surrounding the Role of Youth Sports in Developing Olympic Champions. Youth Studies Australia 23, no.1 (2004): 27-34.
Revised March 14, 2010
Links:
[1] https://www.momsteam.com/node/3014
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/node/874
[3] https://www.momsteam.com/node/2928
[4] https://www.momsteam.com/node/2754
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/sports/31youth.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Dari
[6] http://josephsoninstitute.org/pdf/sports_survey_report_022107.pdf
[7] https://www.momsteam.com/nutrition/sports-nutrition-basics/eating-breakfast-and-exercise-key-to-maintaining-healthy weight
[8] https://www.momsteam.com/nutrition/healthy-new-snacks-from-2009-natural-products-expo-east
[9] https://www.momsteam.com/nutrition/sports-hydration/fluid-guidelines/sports-drinks-best-at-keeping-sports-active-kids-hydrated