Performance nutrition-related habits are taught through team talks, competition fueling strategies, travel nutrition, performance plate coaching, cooking demos, and grocery store tours to optimize performance and promote a healthy lifestyle after athletics.

If you are not testing, you’re guessing! We monitor and assess our student-athletes nutrition for sport intake, meal analysis, body composition assessments, hydration status, and screen for vitamin D and iron deficiencies.

DXA (Duel-energy X-ray absorptiometry) body composition testing collects data that reveals bone mass and lean body mass changes over time. We utilize an interdisciplinary approach to review such results, as body composition data combined with many other data points to develop a comprehensive training plan.

Dehydration often leads to fatigue, cramping, and/or injury. Hydration testing by sweat analysis, body weight changes, and urine specific gravity to assess and educate student-athletes of their hydration status before, during, and after training.

As a member of the health and sports performance team, it is essential to address all areas for our athletes’ recovery. Therefore, we provide nutrition education and intervention during times of injury (e.g., concussion, stress fractures, bone breaks, and soft-tissue injuries) to optimize recovery and the progression through the return to play protocol.

All eating disorders and disordered eating cases utilize a multidisciplinary approach. This team includes but is not limited to Registered Dietitians, Athletic Training, Sport Psychology, Team Physicians, and Health & Wellness administrators. Additionally, we screen our student-athletes annually to prevent and manage eating disorders and disordered eating within our student-athlete population.

A food-first approach promotes a healthy and safe foundation to optimize performance and recovery. Therefore, we educate our student-athletes on the risks and benefits of supplementation and implement supplementation where necessary. In addition, we review all dietary supplements to ensure compliance with NCAA regulations.

In collaboration with our Performance Chefs, we develop balanced training table menus for our Performance Nutrition Center. We value being present at meal time to plate coach our student-athletes according to their recovery needs, nutrition goals, and periodized training seasons. Each RD sets menus for team meals on the road in order to properly fuel for competition and replicate their routines at home as much as possible.