Hoop Mom: Nutrition

In her eighth column for HoopGurlz.com, Teresa Wippel offers insight into cramming nutrition into an athlete's tight schedule.

When she plays in tournaments, my daughter often gets hungry but sometimes we only have an hour until our next game. Do you have some suggestions for what players should eat in these types of situations?

On the Run

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Dear On the Run:

Eating quickly and eating for peak athletic performance often isn’t the same thing, especially when kids usually define fast food as a hamburger and French fries. The key is to focus on foods that provide quick energy without making your young athlete feel sluggish or ready for a nap.

If possible, plan ahead and bring a few healthy snacks from home. For a quick pick-me-up between games, offer fruit like a banana or a peeled orange in a plastic bag, along with half a bagel or a small energy bar.

And even if the snacks are healthy, make sure that your daughter doesn’t eat too much – a whole peanut butter sandwich just before a game may weight her down, for example.

If you have a few hours between games and need to find lunch or dinner at a restaurant, avoid the greasy hamburgers and milkshakes. Instead, go for a deli sandwich or salad bar. Again, keep the servings small. She can eat a larger meal after the final game of the day. You can also encourage her to eat a meal heavy in carbohydrates, such as pasta, the night before the tournament for extra energy.

Also make sure your daughter consumes plenty of water and/or an energy-replacement drink between games – avoid soda pop or juice, as the sugar content can affect athletic performance. (Energy drinks are even more effective for hydration when diluted half-and-half with water.)

And speaking of sugar, in a pinch it may be tempting to grab a candy bar from the tournament snack table, but beware: That temporary sugar high is likely to lead to an energy meltdown before the game ends.

Hoop Mom

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Teresa Wippel is team manager of the Warriors Basketball Club, a 5th Grade girls' team from the Seattle area, and mom to Warriors post player Amanda Waldron. In her other life, she is a freelance writer and editor. To ask Teresa a question, email her at

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