Being a plant-based athlete can be complicated, but it’s a choice that many athletes have made. If you’re considering switching to a plant-based, vegetarian, vegan, or flexitarian diet, there are a few things to consider, especially if your goal is peak athletic performance. “A plant-based diet is not inherently better or worse for health or [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD You’ve likely heard that sports are great for teaching life skills, but have you ever thought about how to actually apply skills like discipline, leadership, emotional regulation, or conflict resolution to your life outside of sport? Maybe you’re great at showing up to practice on time and ready to [...]
Kristen Ziesmer, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Fueling during training as a young athlete can be difficult. Often, practices are short and intense, and don’t include much time for snack breaks. However, your athlete will play their best if they are properly fueled for the work required of them, and that [...]
TrueSport expert Betsy Butterick Setting goals can be fun—or it can be a big challenge. Should you set goals that you know you can achieve, or make a season goal that's going to be a huge stretch? As an athlete, you likely want to win games or excel in competitions, [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Setting boundaries as a student-athlete may seem impossible given that you're obligated to turn in that history report on the same day as playoffs while also juggling family commitments and college applications.Setting boundaries is tricky because you have so many projects, obligations, and goals that you're trying [...]
Dr. Charron Sumler, PhD, LPCC Social media is part of nearly every young athlete's life. It's how they connect with friends and teammates, see what other athletes are doing for training, and find like-minded communities that help them deepen their sense of self. These apps can be a positive force, [...]
Kristen Ziesmer, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day, especially for busy athletes balancing sport, school, extracurriculars, and social activities. And unfortunately, breakfast is also an easy meal for athletes to skip, especially when the day starts with before-school practice or an early [...]
Dr. Melissa Streno Self-care is important for everyone, from coaches to athletes to caregivers. However, self-care can go too far, especially when an athlete is using it to strive for optimized performance. Here, TrueSport Expert and licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Melissa Streno, is sharing the 'red flag' behaviors that can [...]
Kristen Ziesmer, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Busy lives for caregivers and athletes can make healthy meal prep seem impossible. But it is possible to add more whole foods to breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and skip the fast-food stops after practice—with a bit of meal prep and some simple changes to avoid [...]
Dr. Melissa Streno Self-care is often misunderstood, and in the sports community, it can be viewed as lazy or as a way to justify obsessive behaviors. In reality, self-care should be about finding and intentionally practicing experiences that make you feel renewed. Here, Dr. Melissa Streno, TrueSport Expert and licensed [...]
Kara Winger Four-time Olympian and Team USA Javelin Thrower Four-time Olympian and javelin thrower Kara Winger has seen a change happening. Not only are more women coming to sport, but they are also being celebrated and promoted as equals to their male counterparts, they're getting more coverage on TV and [...]
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 [...]
It can be confusing when you’re shopping for a sports drink for your athlete and are confronted with an entire aisle of options. There are sports drink mixes and bottles, oral rehydration solutions in bottle and packet form, electrolyte tabs and mixes, and blends designed to promote recovery. Choosing the right one [...]
Laura Lewis, PhDDirector of Science, USADA Should you be tracking your period with an app or trusting a wearable to let you know when it's about to start? Technology in sport has come a long way, and recently, great strides have been made in the women's health and technology space. [...]
Kevin Chapman, PHD Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Founder Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders How often do you consider what you're thinking, or tune in to how you're talking to yourself? Everything in our lives, and in particular, our sport performance, can be affected by our internal dialogue. Here, TrueSport [...]
KRISTEN ZIESMER, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Registered Dietitian, Founder Elite Nutrition & Performance If your athlete is struggling with gut issues, from constipation to bloating to diarrhea and everything in between, it can be overwhelming and stressful. There's a vast amount of conflicting advice, and what works for one person [...]
MICHELE LABOTZ, MD, FAAP Sports Medicine Physician, InterMed Sports Medicine Clinic You may be wondering to yourself: "What possible benefit can I get by understanding how brain chemistry relates to sport?" It matters more than you might think. A better understanding of brain chemistry may actually lead to improved outcomes [...]
MICHELE LABOTZ, MD, FAAP Sports Medicine Physician, InterMed Sports Medicine Clinic If you're the caregiver to an athlete with a disability, it can be a daunting process to help them pursue the sports that they're interested in, and it may be tempting to shy away from putting youth with disabilities [...]
Whether inflation is increasing the cost of your normal trip to the grocery store or you’re suddenly buying a lot more food for growing athletes, you may KRISTEN ZIESMER, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN Registered Dietitian, Founder Elite Nutrition & Performance be looking for ways to save some money while buying [...]
Nadia Kyba, MSW, President of Now What Facilitation Many of us want to directly intervene when we see an injustice or instance of bullying, but the sad reality is that it’s not always safe to do so. However, that doesn’t mean you should do nothing. There are many ways you [...]
Dealing with the preferences and needs of different family members at mealtime can be extremely difficult for caregivers. You may have one child who’s going through a ‘picky eater’ phase, another who’s a vegetarian, and a third who comes home famished after two-a-day practices. You may have your own food preferences as [...]
Is sugar ever good for you? You may have heard that sugar is bad and should be avoided, but for athletes in particular, this is absolutely not the case. Here, TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD, the Director of Nutrition for the NWSL team, KC Current, destigmatizes sugar and shares the [...]
Appetite can be a tricky thing: Sometimes, after the hardest efforts or longest practices, your athlete may simply not feel hungry. This is normal—but if it becomes a regular occurrence, it can be a cause for concern. While hunger cues are generally important and should be respected, in situations like these, it’s [...]
You may have heard of tart cherry juice as the latest and greatest miracle drink to improve your performance, your recovery, your sleep, and even your immunity. But can a juice really do all of that? TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD Here, TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, [...]
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport—better known as REDs or RED-S—can be hard to diagnose, but essentially, it happens to athletes when they’re consistently expending more energy than they’re taking in. For both boys and girls, this can take a serious physical toll on their bodies, resulting in decreased performance and an increased [...]