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 [...]
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 [...]
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. 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, [...]
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 [...]