 We recently traveled out of town for a tournament, and I was a little shocked at the way our team ate. We want the kids to have fun, but playing well is very important and really is the reason we are there. Also, what activities should the team avoid? I need your suggestions for those of us who don't have a clue as to how to eat healthy and act healthy when staying away from home.
On the Road Mom
Dear On the Road:
Playing basketball away from home presents its own set of unique challenges for young athletes and their parents. There are so many distractions: the excitement of staying in a hotel and being around your teammates 24/7, the lure of the swimming pool and the ever-present soda and candy machines, the anxiety about playing in strange gyms against new teams.
While it’s true that you have made this journey to play basketball – and have probably invested considerable money in transportation costs, hotel rooms and restaurant meals – it’s also important that the girls have some fun along the way. I believe that moderation is the key to any successful basketball road trip and that you can stay competitive and have fun if you follow some simple guidelines.
Eat smart. Being out of town doesn’t mean you ignore basic rules about good nutrition. If possible, stay in a hotel that has comes with a kitchenette so that you don’t eat out all the time. Stock the refrigerator (or invest in a portable electric cooler, if you don’t have access to a refrigerator) with fresh fruit, cut-up carrots, string cheese, yogurt or other healthy snacks for between games. Find an energy bar that your daughter likes and bring along a box for the car and the hotel room. If you do eat out, use common sense. Breakfast before a game should include cereal or a bagel, fruit or juice – not a huge plate of pancakes with butter and syrup or three donuts and hot chocolate with whipped cream. For lunch and dinner, focus on restaurants that offer carbohydrate-rich foods like pasta or deli sandwiches, and keep the fat and sweets to a minimum. To stay hydrated, players should also drink lots of water with every meal. If there is a famous local fast-food restaurant in town that everyone wants to try, save it for the end of the tournament, or on a night when you don’t have morning games.
Limit pool time. If you choose to stay in a hotel with a swimming pool, expect that your team will want to actually go swimming. The key is to put a time limit on the pool (30 minutes is a good rule), which will protect the girls from exhaustion and also from sunburn if you are staying in a hot climate. Also communicate and enforce safety rules – for example, no rough play in the pool. (We know of one coach last year, when we traveled to Sacramento for a national tournament, who actually banned his team of fifth- and sixth-graders entirely from the pool for seven days in 100-degree-plus weather. His team did well, but I’m not sure how much fun they had.)
Schedule quiet activities around games. If you have a few hours between games, encourage your team to watch TV, play video games or engage in other slow-paced activities to conserve energy. Road trips are also a good time to see a movie, play miniature golf or go bowling – anything low key with minimal injury risk. This is not the time to try out the local rock-climbing wall, go-kart track or water slide park – save those activities for after the tournament.
Encourage mature behavior and good hotel manners. Parents and coaches need to set high expectations for player behavior during tournament trips. Remind them that they are not the only ones staying the hotel, and as a result they can’t run in the hallways or yell at each other across the lobby. They need to know that they are representing not only their team, but also the girls’ basketball community, and as a result should be polite and respectful at all times. It’s a message they will hear from their coaches throughout their athletic careers, and it’s never too early to start practicing those skills.
Hoop Mom
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 teresawippel@attbi.com
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