Good Pre-Tournament Snacks for Soccer Players

The foods and liquids your child eats and drinks before and during a soccer tournament can significantly affect his play. It's worth the time to plan ahead.

Soccer tournaments are often held in places where you're lucky to find a restaurant. And even if you do, they'll probably be of the fast food variety. Sometimes there isn't enough time between games to go anywhere for a meal so you have to stay on site. Because of this-and a lack of knowledge-players often make poor food choices that can negatively affect their play.

Preparation begins before the tournament. Players should increase fluid intake the day before. Hydrating well before the tournament helps prevent dehydration during the games. Water is fine. It isn't necessary to drink energy drinks before a tournament. (According to my dentist, drinking lots of energy drinks can cause cavities so it's a good idea to limit their intake.) Soda should be limited (or eliminated) as well.

Taking a large insulated cooler of ice water to the tournament will save money, since you won't have to buy bottled water or energy drinks. If you freeze large blocks of ice and put it in a large insulated jug, it will keep the water cool for a couple of days.

Snacks and meals at the tournament

The best foods to eat at a tournament are carbohydrates, perhaps with a little protein. Proteins and fats are slower to digest and the energy it takes to digest them can reduce the amount of energy available for running. They can also upset a player's stomach during the game. Unfortunately, hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza, the foods most often available at a snack stand, are slow to digest. Better to eat foods that digest quickly, including the evening before the tournament. (Spaghetti and meatballs or Pasta with Marinara Sauce are popular night-before-the-game favorites.)

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a game day staple, but they aren't the only option. Plan on packing a cooler with a variety of easily digestible foods. Bagels, with or without cream cheese, granola bars, energy bars, hard pretzels, cold cereal, yogurt, juice in a box, carrot sticks, applesauce, are all good choices.

And don't forget fruit. Oranges, watermelon, cantaloupe, clementines, pineapple, grapes, raisins, plums, apples, and peaches are just a few of the many fruits that provide quick energy. The individual containers of canned fruit store well. And don't forget bananas. They provide potassium, which prevents cramps.

If you freeze large blocks of ice in bags or plastic containers before the tournament, you can keep a cooler stocked with healthy and quick-digesting snacks for a couple of days. Add a jar of peanut butter and jelly and a loaf of bread, and you'll be set!