Let’s face it, tournaments are exciting and a great opportunity for team building, but figuring out how to fuel our athletes for multiple games can feel challenging and frustrating. Fortunately, understanding the types of food they need between games and in the hotel room for refueling alleviates stress and the never-ending question… “what do you want to eat?”
Even though marketing and labels want us to believe that More Protein!! is the answer to all of our fueling problems, that misinformation can negatively affect energy, endurance, and recovery for the next game.
Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy… especially for our youth & teen athletes that continually utilize them for the game and growth. Think of carbohydrates as a car’s gasoline; protein is like the oil- necessary for everything to work efficiently- but it will never make the car run!
Since protein and fats are slow to digest, timing them around game times is important to reduce fatigue, cramping, nausea, and slow energy.
Slow digestion also means that our athletes will consume more of their protein & fat when there are at least four hours of digestion time – which may occur after multiple games.
Energy champion fueling ideas for tournaments!
4+ hours before game time:
*rice, grilled chicken, roasted veggies, fruit
*tortilla wrap with chicken/steak, salsa, rice, avocado,
*pancakes/French toast, fresh fruit, egg or Greek yogurt, roasted potatoes
*slider pub burgers/grilled chicken, baked potato, raw carrots
2 hours before game:
*Bagel with small portion of nut butter/cream cheese & piece of fruit
*Rice/pasta with small portion of chicken or shrimp
*Half turkey or chicken sandwich/wrap with fruit & pretzels
Fueling and recovery snacks for the road and in the hotel room help reduce costs and help refuel for early morning and late night games. Flying? Stock up at the local grocery store!
*bananas, pineapple, watermelon (help reduce inflammation, muscle soreness, and cramping)
*whole grain bread and peanut butter & jelly (make sandwiches as needed before bed or between games)
*chocolate milk
*yogurt & granola
*2-3 gallon water jugs (easier to refill bottles and reduce environmental waste!)
*oatmeal packs and ramen noodles (use hot water from hotel coffee pot to heat)
*zbars, lesser evil/pipcorn popcorn, nut-butter filled pretzels (great for post-game “glycogen window” refueling
Traveling to new cities for tournaments is a great way to try incredible local eats… try to keep rich, filling options for the end of the tournament when athletes aren’t relying on it for energy, speed, and recovery!
Need more ideas? Worried that your athlete isn’t meeting their nutritional needs for the game or growth? Rock Performance is happy to answer your questions. Visit rockperformance.net
Stefanie Rock is a certified sports nutritionist specializing in the unique nutritional needs of youth and teen athletes. After spending a decade with her kids in travel baseball and hockey- and into junior hockey- she’s not a stranger to navigating & fueling hectic sports schedules!
A big thank you goes out to our guest blogger, Stephanie Rock! She is a great resource for fueling your hockey player. Please check out all of her amazing fueling tips on Instagram.
Want more tips on having a great hockey tournament experience, follow us on Social Media. We post about our attendees and our tournament experiences, plus useful hockey tips daily.