Cougar Sports Nutrition Program: Nutrition for You and All You Do

Eating right prepares our athletes for superior performance. High level performance is made up of many parts: solid strength and conditioning, proper skill development, fierce determination, continual practice, and the often-overlooked aspect of nutrition. WSU Athletics department encourages student-athletes, coaches, and others to recognize the importance of nutrition in the performance, health and wellbeing of our student-athletes.

Sports Nutrition Tip Sheets • Performance Nutrition: Pre-Practice Ideas   • Quick, Healthy Breakfast & Mini-Meal Ideas   • Pre- Workout & Recovery Nutrition   • Nutrition for the Athlete   • Eating on the Road   • Tune Up Your Diet to Tone Down Body Fat   • Red Light, Green Light: Playing the Game of Weight Control   • Portion Control: Know When to Say When   • Healthy Snacking

For sound nutrition information and guidance, WSU offers nutrition education and counseling by a Registered Dietitian (RD). The Coordinator of Sports Nutrition works with certified athletic trainers (ATCs), team physicians, team and strength coaches, as well as other student services staff to WSU student-athletes reach their full potential.

Collegiate athletes have unique nutrition demands. The lifestyle of a student-athlete creates challenges in meetings these needs with a full schedule of classes, practice and conditioning sessions, team meetings, travel, etc. Sara educates student-athletes on not only basic nutrient needs, but deepens teams' understanding of their unique needs through focused, team education. She also spends time working with athletes individually. Sara is also a member of the Supplement Approval Committee which serves evaluates products before use by WSU student-athletes to ensure safety, efficacy and NCAA compliance.

Sara spends the majority of her time in the athletic department, and thanks to a close affiliation with Health & Wellness Services, is able to meet with student-athletes at either the athletics or student health facilities.

Benefits of Proper Nutrition:	Effects of Poor Nutrition:
Maximize training sessions	Reduced stamina and endurance
Amplify endurance and energy	Fatigue
Enhance recovery from exercise	Undesired weight changes
Prevent illness and infections	Stress fractures and other injuries
Prevent injuries	More frequent illness

Nutrition can either make or break the athlete.

With conflicting nutrition information on TV, in magazines, on-line, and in the locker room, it is hard to know what to believe and what is safe. Sara Schofield, Registered Dietitian is here to help you figure out how to safely and effectively maximize your potential through proper nutrition.

Services for Student-Athletes

Private assessment of nutrition behaviors and intake with specific plans to:
- Develop effective eating strategies to use before and after activity
- Set goals and make plans for weight and body composition changes during off-season
- Support weight maintenance in-season
- Learn budget-friendly ideas and skills for meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking
- Develop strategies for snacking, meal timing, restaurant eating and portion control
- Treat anemia, diabetes, high cholesterol, illness, injuries, food allergies and more with Medical Nutrition Therapy
- Receive nutrition counseling and interventions for dysfunctional eating habits
- Learn more about supplements
- Talk about individual nutrition concerns

Services for Coaches

- Consultation on nutrition-related concerns about student-athletes
- Answer questions about nutrition
- Team or small group nutrition education
- Create sport-specific nutrition education materials (brochures, handouts, etc.)
- Trainings or briefings for coaching staff on nutrition issues or topics
- Collaborate to establish appropriate weight and body composition goals for athletes
- Consultation for meals during traveling

About Sara Schofield, RD

Sara has been with the WSU Athletic Department since the fall of 2006. As a Registered Dietitian (RD), Sara has worked in the nutrition field for over eight years in a wide variety of settings. This has included two years of service with the US Peace Corps, where she served in The Gambia, West Africa, and she most recently performed nutrition education and counseling in Syracuse, NY.