TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD Helping young athletes stay hydrated is one of the simplest ways to support their health, safety, and performance. Water plays a key role in everything from focus and mood to muscle function and body temperature. When kids are active, their bodies rely on sweating [...]
TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD Pre-exercise hydration can be a confusing topic for youth sports parents and coaches. Most people know that it is important, but the specifics of ‘why’ can seem murky. “How much water should my athletes be drinking before practices and games?,” “How can an athlete [...]
MICHELE LABOTZ, MD, FAAPSports Medicine Physician, InterMed Sports Medicine Clinic Muscle soreness is part of being an athlete: It's almost impossible to train in a way that improves strength or fitness without feeling sore. Most of the time, soreness isn't a bad thing. However, there's a delicate balance. If every workout [...]
In recent years, coaches across the U.S. have been forced to contend with increasingly severe heat waves, as well as episodes of poor air quality due to wildfires and pollution. It can be hard to know how hot is too hot or how smoky is too smoky before it's a potential health risk [...]
In youth sports, parents and caregivers are often tasked with providing team snacks for everyone at least once during the season. Deciding what to bring can be stressful—and it can be expensive, depending on what you choose! KRISTEN ZIESMER, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Registered Dietitian, Founder Elite Nutrition & Performance [...]
TrueSport Expert Kristen Ziesmer You may have noticed electrolyte drinks and drink mixes popping up on social media, in articles, on podcasts, and in grocery stores in recent years. But does a young athlete really need to supplement their hydration with electrolytes? Here, TrueSport Expert Kristen Ziesmer, a registered dietitian [...]
You may be hearing a lot of buzz around sweat testing for athletes, especially as more companies bring out sweat testing patches that are easier to wear during practice and competition. But does sweat testing actually make a difference for the average athlete? Here, TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD and [...]
There’s a reason that if you watch the Olympic Games closely, you’ll notice that some teams aren’t just swigging water from water bottles. Rather, they appear to be sipping slushies—that refreshing combination of water and ice that many of us remember from when we were kids. It turns out that this frozen [...]
Alkaline water, mineral water, carbonated water, coconut water: There are so many different water options available that it can feel a bit overwhelming at the grocery store. Which one will serve your athlete best, or is plain old tap water the optimal solution? Here, TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD, explains [...]
Hot weather is coming, and that means your athletes are at a higher risk of becoming dehydrated during practices and games. And even mild dehydration can impact athletic performance, as well as an athlete’s general health. Losing just two percent of an athlete’s bodyweight through sweat loss can change how an athlete [...]
As an athlete, sports nutrition and hydration can get incredibly confusing. Are you supposed to be drinking plain water, or sipping a sports drink, or chugging a protein shake? Do you really need electrolytes…and if so, which electrolytes matter most? Unfortunately, the answers to sports nutrition questions tend to be nuanced, and [...]
USA Cheer is proud to partner with USADA’s TrueSport® to bring relevant educational content to the Cheer and STUNT community in order to promote a positive youth sport experience. We are excited to provide access to TrueSport’s experts that take coaching beyond skills and help truly develop the overall athlete by building [...]
TrueSport Expert Kristen Ziesmer on Hydration Exercising in hot and humid weather is tough on all athletes, but kids face an elevated risk of heat illness due to inexperience. Kids are more likely to continue exercising past the onset of mild heat illness either because they don’t recognize the symptoms or because [...]
TrueSport Expert Kristen Zeismer on Hydration There’s no way to know exactly how much water each of us needs to consume daily. With varying levels of activity, finding the right balance of fluid intake for young athletes can seem like a guessing game. But, it’s important to note that without a proper [...]
When it comes to proper hydration, calculating sweat rate is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your young athlete is drinking enough to stay hydrated during sport. And understanding sweat rate—how fast an athlete's body is sweating out fluids—is important for both performance and safety. "People's hydration needs are really [...]