Four Healthy Food Tips for Soccer Tournaments

The food and drink choices available at soccer tournament are limited, either at the snack bar or surrounding restaurants. So if your child will be participating in an upcoming tournament, it's worth the time and effort to plan what they'll eat and drink ahead of time. After all, the food and beverages he drinks both before and during the event will impact his performance.

First, consider food choices. The simplest source of energy used by the body comes from glucose, a simple type of sugar. Carbohydrates are the easiest way for the body to get quick energy, although proteins and fats provide energy as well. They're also necessary to build muscle and create the hormones necessary for life, among other things. But fat and protein are difficult for the body to digest.

Players should eat plenty of carbohydrates in the days leading up to and during the event, because the energy used for fat and protein digestion reduces the energy available for running. Glucose is stored in the body as glycogen, and if there isn't enough glycogen built up in muscles before the game starts, it can affect play, particularly in the second game in a day.

Use the following tips to make sure your player eats-and drinks-healthfully during a tournament.

1. Avoid the snack stand. Many of the foods there-like hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza-are hard-to-digest combinations of fat and protein. Be selective about the snacks your child buys there.

2. Control the fluids. Not the amount, but the types. Players shouldn't drink caffeinated or carbonated beverages, or alcohol. Drink plenty of water and the occasional energy drink. (Energy drinks contain plenty of sugar. Drinking too many can cause cavities so save them to drink during matches.)

3. Eat plenty of carbs before and during the tournaments. It's not just the foods eaten the day of the tournament that affect performance, but those eaten beforehand as well. Stick to high-carb foods such as pasta the evenings before and during the tournament.

4. Bring healthy snacks with you. Pack a cooler with easily digested, high-carb foods, such as oranges, clementines, grapes, apples, yogurt, bagels and cream cheese, raw vegetables like carrot and celery sticks, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Even better, pack jars of peanut butter and jelly, a loaf of bread, plastic knives and paper plates and you're prepared to create snacks as needed. Throw in bottled water (or take a cooler of ice water) and a few energy drinks and you'll have high quality snacks and drinks, and save money too.