The night before a big game.

The night before a big sporting event requires extra effort to ensure plenty of carbohydrate is eaten and fluid intake has been sufficient to ensure a good state of hydration. Often this happens on a Friday night when busy families are pushed for time and spare energy. If so, keep the food simple and use convenient canned and frozen foods and packaged foods like noodles, pasta and rice to supplement fresh products to produce healthy fitness foods, fast.

Thinking ahead and having foods pre-prepared will ease the pressure and help the family achieve a great performance all round. This is the time for carbohydrates, some protein foods and plenty of nourishing drinks. (Remind the
children that these are the same foods their AFL heroes eat the night before a big game.)

On the day.

Select a combination from the following foods to make a nutritious breakfast
● cereal with low fat milk and or yogurt
● toast
● spaghetti or baked beans
● eggs; low fat cheese
● juice or fruit

Breakfast should be eaten at least two hours before activity commences to keep your child feeling satisfied and well fuelled. But if your child gets hungry again up to one hour before starting exercise, allow a small low-fat snack.
If you have to travel long distances or need to make an early start before a game, pack some breakfast-on-the-run foods including flavoured milk drinks; cereal bars; bread rolls with spread; juice; fruit bars; canned or fresh fruit or a fruit bun. Or use a prepared liquid meal to allow your footballer to eat at a more
suitable time.
The best foods to serve at breakfast are those your children are used to eating and are quick and easy to prepare and eat – minimise fuss. Low fibre foods, like nourishing drinks, could be best for breakfast if your child gets an upset tummy due to “nerves” before a game.
Otherwise foods that are rich sources of carbohydrate, yet low in fat, are best eaten at the pre-game meal which is usually breakfast.
Remember to encourage your children to drink fluids at this time. The best drinks for breakfast are low fat milk, juice, and plenty of water.
One to two cups should be enough.
Breakfast Ideas

Cereal with fat reduced milk , fruit and yogurt plus glass of juice
Toast with a scrape of butter or margarine, fat reduced cheese and tomato with a glass of milk
Spaghetti on toast with a fruit milkshake
Scrambled egg with cheese and tomato, toast and a glass of juice
Banana and peanut butter on toast with a flavoured milk drink
Baked beans with fat reduced grated cheese on toast with fruit and a glass of milk
Canned spaghetti on toast, yogurt and a glass of fruit juice
Canned fruit with yogurt; toast and spread with a glass of milk
Fruit or English muffins with a scrape of spread and honey or jam and a fruit smoothie
Pancakes with honey and a glass of milk
Crumpets with honey, a tub of yogurt and a glass of flavoured milk or juice

Always pack two drink bottles per child – one for water and the other with sports drink.
Also take a top up supply of cooled water, juice poppers and flavoured fluids if it will be a long day.
Between each game (at carnivals) a snack containing 40 – 50 g of carbohydrate will help boost energy levels and prevent hunger for junior footballers.
Each of these Energy Boosters provides approximately 50 g of carbohydrate. It’s always a good idea to encourage some food with fluids, if time permits, between games.

At the oval.

Don’t rely on the canteen or nearest shops to supply foods and drinks over the day, as healthy choices are not always available.
Be prepared by packing your own supplies of food and drinks in an esky or cooler bag.

GO!

Energy Boosters
Flavoured milk or a liquid meal tetrapak (e.g.Sustagen)
1 bottle (600 mL) sports drink or prepared sports cordial

A snack pack of canned fruit with a juice popper 50 g packet of jelly confectionery with water

Jam or honey sandwich with a juice popper
1 piece of fruit or 1 packet sultanas with 300 mL sports cordial

Bread roll with banana and water
1 low fat cereal bar with a juice popper or flavoured milk

1 fruit bun with a juice popper

2 large pikelets with jam or honey plus a snack pack canned fruit

Fruit muffin – try the easy fruit muffin packet mixes – with a juice popper or water
Fluid intake on the day

In the half hour prior to their game, aim to get your child to drink about 1 cup of water or sports drink.
Cool fluids need to be made available to all players at frequent intervals during each game.
Most junior games are played over 40 to 60 minutes broken into 10, 12 or 15 minute quarters. So aim for an intake of at least ½ cup – with the oranges – at each break. This equates to a couple of “good mouthfuls”.
During a carnival, keeping up fluid intake between games is very important as some children may end up playing three or four games through the day. This is hard work and they need to top up with food and fluids to keep performing at their best.
Some players will obviously need more fluids than others so keep a check on how your child is feeling. If they are starting to look or feel hot, push the fluids a little more.
Early or later in the season children will need to be reminded to drink more frequently as the weather may be warm. As winter creeps in, their fluid losses will lessen but it is even more important to remind them to drink, as they often won’t feel thirsty despite being dehydrated.
Immediately after their game (or training) encourage kids to drink the rest of their bottle (at least 500 mL). Sports drinks and water are best during and after long sessions of activity and are especially important during a carnival where children may play several games in succession.
Sports drinks and sports cordials have been proven to be useful in recovery as they assist fluid and electrolyte replacement. Also, it has been shown that children will drink more if the fluid is flavoured – vary the flavours to avoid taste fatigue.

After the game

Recovery after each day’s game or training session is essential to maintain your child’s best performance – especially over consecutive days at a carnival.

Recovery snacks and fluids should be
● Started within 30 minutes of finishing exercise
● High in carbohydrate with a little protein
● Quick and easy to prepare and eat
● Available at the venue if it takes a long time to get home.

Junior footballers will be playing on cold, bleak winter mornings and often look for something warm to eat after their game. Some winter-warming nourishing snack ideas can be found overleaf.

Quickly prepared dishes
Mince in Minutes
Tuna Temptation
Hunger Buster Burgers
Chicken Wraps
Pineapple Chicken Stirfry
Tropical Rice Delight
Pineapple sago
Ideal for reheating
Logan’s Lasagne
Winter Casserole
Sweet Lamb Curry
Potato Power
Hearty Minestrone
Pinwheels
Fruit Muffins

The night after a big day of footie

Coping with tired, hungry footballers at the end of a long day can be challenging for any parent. The temptation to line up at a fast food outlet can be great and pressure from the children can make it even harder to resist.
Of course, takeaway foods can be enjoyed as an occasional treat but generally try to limit to special occasions rather than every weekend!
You may not be in the habit of having a meal ready at home but with the help of some ideas from the cookbook and remembering to use
“convenience foods” from the supermarket, it will be possible! It will also save the family time and money and certainly improve the nutritional value of the meal.
One solution is to have food already prepared in the fridge or freezer – only needing reheating while showers happen.
Have a selection of fresh, canned, packaged and frozen foods on hand to prepare home cooked “Fast Food”. You will find the following quick and easy to prepare recipes in
Fast Food for Active Families
as well as some suitable to prepare in advance for a quick reheat when you get home.
Winter Warmers

Savoury jaffles with a milkshake
A serve of canned soup with toast and a glass of milk
Pancakes with syrup and warmed flavoured milk
A quick pasta snack with juice
Crumpets with ‘lite’ cheese or honey and juice
Low fat minute noodles with a hot milk drink
A toasted sandwich with juice
Or try these winter warmers from our cookbook Fast Food for Active Families.
Hearty Minestrone – vegetables, nourishing beans & rice served with crusty bread and a glass of juice
Pinwheels – spirals filled with tasty mince and cheese to enjoy with canned tomato soup
Mince Muffins – tasty, beefy mini muffins with a hot milk drink
Mexi Balls – meaty mouthfuls with just enough spices for kids with a banana
smoothie

HOT TIPS TO STAY COOL

How to avoid overheating and ensure adequate fluid intake.
Running out of fuel is often not the main problem for junior footballers, but getting
overheated is a very real possibility for active kids and will impair their
performance.
● Children should always have their own water bottle on hand or in the
team drink crate, to sip from during the game and at breaks in play.

● Keep fluids cool – not a problem in winter – and have a mix of water and
flavoured drinks such as sports drink, or sports cordial, to encourage greater
intake during and after activity.

● Fluid loss will vary from game to game depending on a child’s involvement in
the action and the environmental conditions.
Be prepared to compensate for extra losses if your child is overheating.

● Remind children not to wait until they are thirsty before they start to drink! By
then they will already be starting to dehydrate and possibly overheating.

● Discourage your footballer from using carbonated drinks before, during and
immediately after exercise as they can upset the stomach and reduce their desire
to drink. (Bloating can be a problem and means they will get too full before they
drink a sufficient volume).

● It is not suitable for active children to be using high caffeine drinks before, during or after sport. Discourage intake of tea, coffee, cola drinks and the new age ‘energy’ drinks that contain large amounts of caffeine. These are definitely
not recommended for junior athletes.

● Monitor drinks hygiene. Encourage your footballer to adopt healthy habits when
drinking from a shared bottle. It is preferred that kids get into the habit of
taking their own bottle but if they forget, their lips should not touch any part of a
shared bottle. Teach them how to squirt or use a chin sipper bottle to get the
water into their mouth.

● Sports drinks are an excellent source of energy and fluid during and after activity.
But encourage your footballer to drink flavoured fluids through a straw to direct the fluid to the back and avoid swishing round the mouth.

WARNING SIGNS FOR DEHYDRATION

Know the warning signs for dehydration. If a child shows any of the following signs it would be best for them to take some time out to rest and take in fluids.

● dizziness and light-headedness

● muscle cramps

● nausea and headache

After games you will know if your child has not drunk enough if any of these signs are noticed:
● dark urine and infrequent urination

● dry mouth and throat

● a feeling of extreme heat which remains after a cool down time
Supplied by Sports Dietitians Australia with our sincere thanks and gratitude.
Ruth Logan BSc, Grad Dip Nut & Diet (SA), APD

Ruth is a member of Sports Dietitians Australia and Dietitians Association of Australia

A guide for parents, coaches and team managers.

Getting Ready Foods
Before and after games and training sessions is a great time to offer an occasional “sweet treat” to top up energy levels. These include sports drinks, cordials, jelly and jelly confectionery.

Cereals
Breakfast cereals; rolled oats and other grains served hot or cold;
Bread & bread rolls; pita, Turkish and mountain breads; tortillas, tacos, lavash; crackers & crisp
breads; rice cakes; corn thins; rice; pasta ( including canned spaghetti); noodles; couscous

Dairy & soy foods
Plain & flavoured milks; yogurt; milk desserts
Calcium enriched soy alternatives

Fruit
All fresh, canned or dried fruits; fruit bars; fruit fingers; fruit juices

Vegetables & legumes (pulses)
Potato, sweet corn, sweet potato, peas, beetroot, pumpkin, baked beans, lentils, chick peas, soy beans, bean mixes

Extras – sweet snacks
Low fat cereal/muesli bars; muffins; cake; biscuits; fruit buns, fruit loaf, fruit scones; pikelets, pancakes, waffles; jelly confectionery, jelly, jellied fruits;
sports drinks, cordial

As well as eating and enjoying a wide variety of foods, it is important to make sure that junior athletes have enough protein in their diet.

Encourage them to include the Grow Foods listed above.

It is important that active children learn to eat according to their appetite – ensuring they eat enough but not too much, while remembering they often have great variance in their appetite from day to day due to factors such as activity,
tiredness and growth. It will be important to encourage them (especially the underweight child) to eat something at times when they feel too tired or busy to bother. But don’t panic if their appetite sometimes seems less than usual – that’s
normal! This is why eating healthy snacks is so important.

Encourage “active” recovery between training sessions and games by providing foods and drinks containing plenty of carbohydrate. Often fluids are more acceptable to children at this time with the best choices being sports drink,
cordial, fruit juice, and flavoured milk. Foods containing a small amount of protein with the carbohydrate are also great – try snack packs of canned fruit, fruit purees with yogurt, baked beans or spaghetti with cheese on toast, cereal
bars or fruit bars with a milk drink.

Remind children to keep up their fluid intake by drinking “mouthfuls often” during training and games, immediately after each period of activity as well as during the day at school or home. Water is the preferred drink but during activity a flavoured sports drink containing small amounts of sugar and electrolytes may
encourage greater intake.

The whole family may need to get organised for healthy eating – this can offer a great opportunity to change everyone’s food and fluid intake habits. Remember though, that the age and activity level of family members and friends will determine their required quantities ‘Treat’ foods do have a role to play in a healthy diet but encourage children to recognise treats as occasional, not every day. Discourage excess indulgences by explaining to kids that too much of anything can create problems and will certainly affect their ability to perform to their best. Preventing the development of a weight problem is easier than dealing with excess weight later.

If appropriate, use of one of the junior footballers’ favourite AFL stars as a good example of health and fitness. You can tell them that their heroes eat what is recommended here.

Grow Foods

Meat, seafood and eggs
Beef, veal, lamb, pork, turkey, chicken
Fish – fresh, canned or frozen; other seafood
Eggs
Dairy and soy foods
Milk, cheese and yogurt
Calcium enriched soy products – milk, yogurt
Tofu
Legumes, nuts and seeds
Baked beans; meat analogues (vegetarian foods); seed beans; nuts such as almonds and
cashews; peanuts and peanut butter; seeds like pumpkin and sunflower

A note about fats

All children require a small amount of fat (3 – 4teaspoons) in their daily food intake for normal growth and development. It is recommended that all Australians, including children, limit their intake of saturated fats (mainly animal
fats). Children, however, need to include plenty of the healthier unsaturated fats found in foods like fish, nuts, seeds and avocados.
Children under the age of five need to be eating full cream dairy foods to meet their nutritional and energy needs, however children over five years of age may be offered reduced fat dairy products.
If your child is overweight, a healthy diet and activity plan will help them.

Management of overweight children often requires expert help from your doctor or a dietitian. Avoid strict dieting or rapid weight loss. Parents can help by reducing the child’s overall energy intake and encouraging more
physical activity. Choose low fat foods for meals and snacks, avoid the use of fatty take away and convenience foods and replace high sugar snacks and drinks with water and more nutritious choices like fruit.
Healthy eating is the same for overweight and normal weight active children, although the amounts consumed might need to be different.

Fatty, salty snacks should be minimised for everyone and replaced by some of the healthy snack suggestions that follow.
In football there will always be a spot for the “bigger” child which is great to encourage their participation in sport! But they will enjoy it more when they feel fitter and carry less body fat

For those junior footballers wanting to gain weight or strength the advice is quite simple -
eat larger quantities of nutritious foods, and healthy snacks like nuts and dried fruit, and enjoy more nourishing drinks to provide the extra energy required to convert to muscle.

Smart Snacks
Bread, crumpets or English muffins with jam
A snack pack of canned fruit or fresh fruit
Sandwich with low fat cheese, honey or jam
Vegetable pieces with low fat dip
Breakfast cereal with low fat milk
Low fat yogurt
Low fat cereal/fruit bars
Pita chips, pretzels or crackers
Fruit bun or raisin toast with jam
Corn & rice crackers or corn thins
Scone, pikelet, pancake with syrup
Low fat smoothie with fruit (fresh or canned)
Low fat/quick cook noodles
Low fat milkshakes
Canned spaghetti or baked beans
Water with cordial for flavour
Home made popcorn
Fruit juice

Supplied by Sports Dietitians Australia with our sincere thanks and gratitude.
Ruth Logan BSc, Grad Dip Nut & Diet (SA), APD

Ruth is a member of Sports Dietitians Australia and Dietitians Association of Australia