Rowers and Parents,

As our head racing season comes to a close and we begin to prepare for sprint racing, we want to provide information for both our athletes and their parents on sports nutrition. Sports nutrition is more than simply eating healthy. Athletes need to eat more calories than non-athletes and they need to focus on what kinds of food will power their bodies through competitions.

Most young athletes do not eat enough calories to make up for how much they burn in practice, so their bodies cannot properly recover from training. In the past we have had athletes get sick from not eating properly and we want to prevent such occurrences in our spring season. We also want to make sure that we are performing to our maximum potential. Young athletes who do not fuel their bodies properly are more prone to injury, less energetic, and less productive in school and athletics. Learning how to eat properly will help keep our athletes healthy and give us a competitive edge.

Jen Figueroa, our middle school sculling coach and Anatomy and Physiology teacher at Buchholz, will be giving the talk. Jen has been rowing for 15 years and she has a degree in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training from University of Charleston, and a masters in Motor Control and Kinesiology. She will be focusing the discussion on what types of food rowers need, and the best way to get the proper amount of nutrients. She will also take any questions that you may have after her discussion.

The sports nutrition talk will take place on Monday, November 23 at 5:30, in the pavilion at Newnan Lake. Practice will end a little bit early for the talk and attendance for athletes is mandatory. Parents are highly encouraged to attend. Eating properly is much easier when parents also understand what their athletes need and can support them in making good decisions. Again, most lapses in nutrition for high school athletes come not from them eating too much junk food but from them not understanding how, when, and what to eat to allow their bodies to cope with training and grow stronger.

We hope to see you all out at the lake on November 23!