It can be hard to make meals that are healthy and satisfying for athletes with certain food restrictions. But with a bit of prep and pre-planning, you can easily have snacks and meals on hand that are soy, dairy, and gluten-free. TrueSport Expert Kristen Ziesmer, a registered dietitian and the owner of [...]
Creating strong boundaries is an important and often overlooked piece of the coaching dynamic. A lack of boundaries can not only impact a team’s success, but also lead a coach to experience burnout and negative mental health effects. Here, TrueSport Expert Kevin Chapman, PhD, clinical psychologist and founder of The Kentucky Center [...]
As an athlete, it’s recommended that you eat every three hours throughout the day, so it’s important to find snacks that travel easily, offer the right nutrients, and actually taste good too. When it comes to nutrition, the goal is to find snacks that fill you up and keep you energized through [...]
You may have heard of inflammation in popular news media lately and wondered if it could impact your athlete. Or maybe your athlete has been feeling more sore than usual and you’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Inflammation sounds scary, but for athletes, it’s a natural [...]
You might think of bone and joint health as something older adults have to contend with as they age, but in reality, childhood and adolescence is the time to lay the foundation for bone and joint health. In fact, the National Institutes of Health points out that “up to 90 percent of [...]
Struggling to get lunch packed on hectic mornings? If you have a young athlete on the go, you know providing a good meal for them midday is critical to their ability to get through practice. But it’s tough to make time for meal prep and packing a tasty lunch when you’re already busy.Here, [...]
Iron and vitamin D are two common athlete nutrient deficiencies that can have a big impact on athletic performance and overall health. But treating them with food or supplements isn’t the only answer—finding out the reason for the deficiency is just as important. Laura Lewis, PhD, Director of Science at the U.S. [...]
You've probably heard the hype about collagen supplements. While collagen material can be used medically to treat burns or serious wounds, should you be taking collagen in supplement form? Dr. Amy Eichner, PhD, the Special Advisor on Drug Reference and Supplements at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, weighs in with the hard truth [...]
As your athlete gets older and more competitive in sport, you may be wondering if adding protein powder into their daily routine is a good idea. But before you go out and buy the biggest tub of protein that you can find in the grocery store, there are a few things you [...]
As parents and as coaches, we often understand that there's value in pursuing a goal, even when it seems unattainable. Every hero's journey encounters some moment of adversity, some chance that they won't reach their goal. And even losing out on a goal has value because it instills resilience. Deborah Gilboa, [...]
If you bought an Instant Pot (or any type of pressure cooker) in the hope that it would simplify your life and cooking, but now it rarely gets used, then this is the article for you. When dealing with packed schedules for kids in different sports, plus your own work and other [...]
Even from a young age, the sports children play and the teams they join can shape them into the adults that they will become. Here, three TrueSport Ambassadors are sharing how sport has changed their lives, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. If you’re a parent or coach of a young [...]
This last Games cycle has taught many athletes and coaches the importance of prioritizing mental health as much as we prioritize physical health in sport. And for some athletes, that may mean sitting out major competitions—as gymnast Simone Biles elected to do in the Tokyo 2020 Games—and it could even mean quitting [...]
When your young athlete eats, they're not just fueling their bodies: Their brains are also using food for fuel. And it might come as a surprise, but the brain uses around 20 percent of the body's energy, making it the hungriest organ. Fuel it appropriately, and your young athlete will be able [...]
There’s a not-so-secret epidemic happening on high school and college campuses: hazing. Although the hazing culture is condemned, sadly, it’s common.In the National Study of Student Hazing, 55 percent of college students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing. The same study found that “for many students who step onto a college [...]
TrueSport Expert Nadia Kyba When it comes to dealing with misbehavior on your team, it can be tempting to label kids as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and ‘bullies’ or ‘victims.’ But rarely is real life that simple, and more often than not, bullying behaviors are driven by a need that a [...]
Are you running out of time to cook dinner at night? Are you grabbing takeout because you didn’t have the ingredients for a complicated meal? Most parents of active children know the struggle of wanting young athletes to eat healthy but having little time to prep meals. That’s why we put together [...]
Is your athlete a member of a national governing body and subject to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules? Maybe they’re bound for college sports and NCAA anti-doping rules also apply? Or maybe they are just interested in participating in high school sports? If your athlete is subject to a drug testing program [...]
Many parents get into coaching because they have a child in the sport. It can be a fun, rewarding experience for both of you, but as you might have realized, it can also be a challenge. As a parent and a coach, it can be difficult to establish expectations and boundaries that [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD You likely already know that beyond the physical benefits of playing an organized sport, young athletes are also in a great position to learn valuable leadership skills through sport. While some kids may not consider themselves natural leaders, it's important for athletes to understand that they can [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD On a team, there are athletes who naturally gravitate towards leadership roles and require little support. But those athletes aren't the only ones who can be team leaders, and a dedicated coach can help athletes hone previously dormant leadership skills. Here, TrueSport Expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, explains how to [...]
Meal prepping is a common recommendation for busy parents who want to provide healthy meals and make weeknights smoother, especially when there’s a young athlete with a packed schedule and a big appetite in the house. But meal prepping can also be overwhelming, and most people simply don't have six hours to [...]
Supplement Series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 Have you evaluated your diet, met with a physician, and fine-tuned your training program only to find that you really do need to use a supplement? Now it’s time to decide which supplements might actually [...]
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 [...]