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 [...]
Dennis Coonan, MSE, LAT, ATC Injuries that force an athlete to take a break from their sport are common. And the impact isn’t just physical: A forced break from sport can be emotionally painful as well. For many athletes, coping with the injury, recovering from it, and advocating for themselves [...]
After reading the TrueSport article below, visit the USA Cheer Concussion Education and Resources Hub Concussions are one of the most common injuries in high school and youth sports. And while they are most common in contact sports such as football and ice hockey, they occur across the full spectrum of sport, [...]
Laura Lewis, PhD Recovery strategies are increasingly trendy in the sports world, from new spa-like centers that feature ice baths, saunas, compression boots, and red-light therapies, to old staples like foam rollers and sports massage. But which recovery strategies really move the needle for athletes trying to optimize their recovery and [...]
Laura Lewis, PhD If you’re an athlete living at sea level, the idea of training or competing at a high-altitude location can feel intimidating. Maybe you’ve heard horror stories from teammates who struggled to acclimate, or you’re concerned that you won’t be able to perform at your best. While higher elevations [...]
Kevin Chapman, PhD Visualization can be an athlete’s secret weapon, and it’s a skill that you can practice in the car, at home, or whenever you have downtime in your sport. Using mental imagery to work through key game-day scenarios can help you find the right balance of game-day nerves and [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD You may have been taught that stress is always bad and should be avoided. But in reality, stress is critical for growth, performance, and being a happy, healthy human. Too much stress can absolutely be a problem, but no stress at all usually means you’re not being challenged [...]
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 [...]
TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD Artificial food dyes have received plenty of attention in recent years. Some headlines suggest they may increase hyperactivity in children, while others argue they’re simply unnecessary additives that we don’t need in our food. As a caregiver, it’s natural to wonder how concerned you [...]
TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been making headlines for years—and usually not in a positive light. Often used as a replacement for cane sugar in sodas, candies, and other sweet snacks, it’s frequently viewed as the “less healthy” option. For coaches working with [...]
Getting the right fuel before an early workout can be tough. Many athletes find that eating first thing in the morning feels unappetizing, upsets their stomach, or simply doesn’t fit into their morning routine. But your body still needs energy to perform—and there are simple ways to make pre-workout fueling easier. “If you’re [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Taking risks is part of sport, and part of life: You won’t excel as an athlete if you don’t take shots that you know may not go into the goal, push harder in a run knowing you may not be able to hold the pace, or opt to [...]
Amy Eichner, PhD While peptides have been popular for years, first making waves in products for skin and joint care, injectable peptides have recently become popular on social media thanks to claims of muscle growth, recovery, and a host of other benefits that may appeal to athletes. Here, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency [...]
TrueSport Athlete Ambassador Abby Raymond As an Olympic weightlifter, setting incredibly specific goals is nonnegotiable for Abby Raymond. Because a single pound of weight on the bar could be the difference between a win or a loss, the granular focus on numbers is key to success. But it's not always easy [...]
Since he was only a few years old, Trevon Jenifer has focused on athletic goals and how to achieve them. With that focus and some strategic goal setting, Jenifer has gone on to become a four-time Paralympian in the sport of wheelchair basketball. While his goals in life and sport have changed over [...]
Chris Mazder - Olympian and TrueSport Ambassador Chris Mazdzer is no stranger to goal setting. The now-retired luge athlete competed in four winter Olympic Games, winning the silver medal in 2018 and becoming the first non-European racer to ever medal in the men's single luge. Since he retired from the sport [...]
The headlines of wellness, fitness, and nutrition coverage have been shouting about the difference in fueling for males versus females in recent years, and as a caregiver for a young athlete, it can feel confusing. There are already so many other aspects of fueling to consider, but if your athlete has big goals, [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Change is inevitable, but it’s also scary. Whether you get promoted to team leader or cut from the starting lineup, your brain is programmed to produce stress. However, it's possible to become more skilled at dealing with change by building your resilience muscles. Here, board-certified family physician and [...]
Dr. Melissa Streno As an athlete, you likely know the importance of physical recovery. You know that rest days are important opportunities for your body to recover after hard competitions or practices. But if those rest days are jam packed with the rest of your life—homework, extracurriculars, work—you may not be [...]
Prioritizing personal safety while training has been making headlines in recent months. How can athletes stay safe when training solo, especially if they're running alone at night or in unfamiliar areas? How can athletes stay healthy in a sport culture where the demands have never been higher? For student-athletes, sometimes these situations are [...]
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 [...]
Dr. Charron Sumler, PhD, LPCC Choosing a college can feel like a monumental decision for both student-athletes and their caregivers. And in many cases, everyone isn’t on the same page about what to consider and what to prioritize. That’s why it’s so important to decide what matters most, ask lots of [...]
As a caregiver, you may read or hear about a lot of different nutrition "rules," especially for athletes. Recently, a lot of those rules and taboos are around processed foods. However, healthy athletes require a lot of fuel to maintain their energy for peak performance, and often, processed foods play a role in [...]
Kevin Chapman, PhD Have you waited until the last night before a report is due to write it? Or delayed doing laundry until you don’t have any clean clothes left? That’s procrastination, and it’s very common! While it doesn’t always lead to bad outcomes, procrastination often comes with negative side effects, [...]
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 [...]