HEATHER + ALIX

The Champagne Theory

  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Happy Hour
    • Lifestyle
    • Wellness Wednesday
  • Shop Our Instagram
  • Contact

March 7, 2025

Fueling Young Athletes with a Busy Schedule

Recently I have been having a lot of athletes on my schedule (which I love!) and it always astonishes me how under fueled so many young athletes are. Between busy schedule and not know what/when/how much to eat many times these student athletes are not getting the right amount of nutrition to support their sport.

Quinn has been playing year round club soccer for the past year and it’s also become challenging at times to figure out her feeding schedule with games and practices. I thought it might be helpful for parents out there with young athletes to receive education around how to fuel their child for their sport and busy schedule.

A lot of attention can often get placed on proper nutrition on the day of an event/game. However, the day to day nutritional intake is much more important than one specific meal being perfect. Inadequate and poorly balanced eating can result in nutrient deficiencies which can negatively impact energy, concentration and performance. Nutrient deficiencies can not be resolved with one good meal. Therefore, it’s important to pay attention to your athlete’s intake on a day to day basis.

Young athletes need a lot of carbohydrates for energy/fuel, adequate protein for growth and development, fat for satiety, and fiber for digestion and vitamins/nutrients.

This starts with breakfast of course. The mornings can be hectic for many families and getting in a well balanced breakfast can be a challenge.

Breakfast isn’t optional, it’s essential fueling for an athlete. Even if your child is not a big breakfast eater, something is better than nothing to break the fasting state and get some fuel. Ideally, there is a balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats. Examples: eggs + toast/bagel/frozen waffle + cream cheese or peanut butter and hopefully a whole piece of fruit. Other options could include yogurt + granola + fruit, overnight oats, smoothie, cereal + milk + fruit.

If your athlete has a really early morning practice, focus on the meal having adequate carbohydrate the night before so they have some glycogens stores in the morning. Focus on hydrating first thing in the morning and having something small like an easily digestable carbohydrate before practice. Examples: fruit, mini bagel, piece of toast, or liquid nutrition if easier to tolerate.

Lunch: either a school bought lunch or packing a lunch from home. Make sure they are getting a balance of nutrients as explained before. For my older athletes who claim to be too busy with school work at lunch time, once again this meal is not optional. This is likely your closest meal to practice time, so it’s important to get in a complete meal.

Dinner # 1 (or mini meal pre practice): Heather does a good job of this with her boys in feeding them a meal right when they get home from school before practice. Kids come home STARVING from school and it’s so much better if they eat a meal at this time instead of endless snacking.

Dinner #2 (after practice): Quinn eats dinner before practice and always comes home from practice around 7:45 pm starving again. She worked her butt off at practice and needs more than a little snack before bed. I will often have leftovers from dinner ready for her or make her another mini meal like a quesadilla with milk.

Snacks: An ideal snack combines at least 2 food groups. Simply giving your athlete pretzels for a snack won’t cut it. Try combining it with a protein like peanut butter or a cheese stick to give them a more balanced snack. Ideally you’re combing a carbohydrate (grain or fruit) with a protein/fat (cheese, nuts/nut butter, jerky, deli meat, hard boil egg, yogurt, etc). Here is a list of 20 snack ideas for kids I created.

Have your athlete bring cooler like this one to keep in backpack or sports bag to keep protein snacks/sandwiches cool to give more options (cheese sticks, yogurt, turkey sandwich, etc.). It’s totally fine to rely heavily on pre packaged snacks and bars, but having a cooler gives more options and variety.

Lastly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed with meal planning all of this have your child help with the meal planning. Have them write up 4-5 breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas. Bring them to the grocery store to pick out things they will eat. Ask them what their teammates pack that look good. It helps you come up with ideas about what to make and getting them involved motivates them to actually eat the food.

I absolutely love working with athletes of all ages, so let me know if you have any questions!

| Categories: Wellness Wednesday

The Champagne Theory is a lifestyle blog by Alix and Heather, two Orange County moms who found each other in Seattle. Alix is a registered dietitian passionate about wellness while Heather loves all things beauty + fashion. Both love documenting their journey through motherhood as Alix has two girls and Heather has three boys. Hence the need for a glass of champagne every now and then!

         

Shop Our LIKEtoKNOWit

Recent Posts

  • Happy Hour
  • My Weekend at Miraval
  • Weekend Snaps + Recent Outfits
  • April Favorites
  • High Protein Travel Snacks

Subscribe to The Champagne Theory

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search

Archives

Categories

  • Happy Hour
  • Lifestyle
  • Wellness Wednesday

Search

Recent Posts

  • Happy Hour
  • My Weekend at Miraval
  • Weekend Snaps + Recent Outfits
  • April Favorites
  • High Protein Travel Snacks

Recent Comments

  • Spring Walking Wardrobe Refresh - HEATHER + ALIX on Walking Workout Inspo / / 5 Ways to Spice Up Your Routine + More
  • Happy Hour - HEATHER + ALIX on Spring Break Style Guide // Looks for Your Next Warm Weather Vacation
  • Brittany Marcotte on Wellness Wake-Up Call
  • 25 Healthy Habits to Start in 2025 - HEATHER + ALIX on My Top 10 Books of 2024
  • Happy Hour - HEATHER + ALIX on 5 Drop Off Outfits That Require Little Effort

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018

Categories

  • Happy Hour
  • Lifestyle
  • Wellness Wednesday

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Archives

Follow us on Instagram

heatherandalix

Our first photo together in months because we look Our first photo together in months because we looked somewhat presentable🫣Met up for lunch + shopping @shopuvillage and got caught up on all the busyness that fall brings🤎

Also sharing a new happy hour Q&A on the blog // www.thechampagnetheory.com
Life is better on the weekends🤍🥂 Check out Life is better on the weekends🤍🥂

Check out a new Q&A on the blog — thechampagnetheory
NEW BLOG POST🖤transitioning into fall and all m NEW BLOG POST🖤transitioning into fall and all my most recent outfits linked🔗

www.thechampagnetheory.com
Walla Walla is always a good idea🤍Spent a few d Walla Walla is always a good idea🤍Spent a few days in the sun with Britt and some friends and it was picture perfect🥂we stayed at Yellowhawk and it was to die for🍇we sabered, sipped wine, ate really good food, swam in the pool, played card games that turned real competitive and laughed until we cried🥲best way to close out the summer.. now let’s get these kids off to school✔️
August slipped away into a moment in time✨ August slipped away into a moment in time✨
grateful for 38🫶🏻spending it on the water wi grateful for 38🫶🏻spending it on the water with my favorite people🖤
Our month long Midwest summer is coming to a close Our month long Midwest summer is coming to a close and as a girl from Southern California, I never in a million years thought I’d spend any time in northern Wisconsin.. and now it’s one of my favorite places on earth❤️summers spent here with my boys is something I’ll cherish forever and I can’t wait until we’re back making even more special memories😎we would stay longer, but Britt has golf tournaments to get back for..😏and I guess it’s time to come home and enjoy that Seattle sun and see our friends😍
Our month in wisconsin continues😍❤️🇺🇸 Our month in wisconsin continues😍❤️🇺🇸
Digital postcard of a Memorial Day weekend well sp Digital postcard of a Memorial Day weekend well spent with the girls in LA❤️🤍💙
Amazon hauls are always some of our most popular p Amazon hauls are always some of our most popular posts and requests so today on the blog you’re getting everything I’ve added to cart in recent weeks🛒 including this fun crochet vest I picked up for the summer❤️‍🔥
girls night with a guest appearance by Justin Timb girls night with a guest appearance by Justin Timberlake❤️‍🔥nothing better than sitting on a patio in the sun having girl chat and spicy margs followed by a late night of dancing👯‍♀️but these millennial girls need a nap now😆
It’s the weekend and the boys are on spring brea It’s the weekend and the boys are on spring break🥳looking forward to no school, sports, or rigid schedules and staying in jams all day if that’s what we decide😍except we still have one more full Saturday of back to back games before jetting to Wisconsin for Easter💛hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend🐇

Check the blog for a new happy hour Q&A
Happy Friday babes🫶🏻check out the blog for a Happy Friday babes🫶🏻check out the blog for a brand new Q&A🖤have a great weekend🥂
#isurvived a house full of 9 year old boys today s #isurvived a house full of 9 year old boys today so that deserves a little celebratory aperol in my opinion🧡hope you have a great weekend and check out the champagne theory for our February Favorites😊
today on the blog is a very random list of things today on the blog is a very random list of things I’m loving on the internet right now.. no rhyme or reason to it🤎

www.thechampagnetheory.com
✈️ setting with my littlest valentine in searc ✈️ setting with my littlest valentine in search of some ☀️ to cure the winter blues. Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️🩷
A full weekend and outfit recap on the blog today❤️it was a good one🏈🤩
Met Alix at our old stomping grounds for a little Met Alix at our old stomping grounds for a little retail therapy + lunch to celebrate 6 years of the champagne theory😍some of you have been around since day one (😘our OG babes) and others are brand new and we’re so happy you found us🥂
Tackling your hard hitting questions in today’s Tackling your hard hitting questions in today’s Happy Hour Q&A.. on the blog now🙃

www.thechampagnetheory.com

🥂🤍
Styled easy and effortless looks for the lady on t Styled easy and effortless looks for the lady on the go🤎all details on our LTK page and the blog✨

LTK: heatherandalix
Blog: www.thechampagnetheory.com

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Load More Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 HEATHER + ALIX · Theme by Pish and Posh Designs.