Gillingham FC Nutritionist Joins Swerve
Alex Barron is a performance nutritionist who has worked with teams such as Portsmouth FC and Gillingham FC, specialising in enhancing young footballers performance and recovery through nutritional strategies.
Alex joins Swerve Soccer with the aim to educate young athletes and their parents on the importance of nutrition and how it may benefit their football career. During the season, Alex will deliver online workshops that will cover the foundations of pre-and post-match nutrition for young athletes. These workshops are designed to give players some basic information on nutrition and how to implement the next time players participate within football. Here are three tips from Alex:
Carbohydrates ARE friend, not foe.
Carbohydrates should be the main part of a young athletes diet because they provide all the energy needed to play football. A young athlete on a low carbohydrate diet or consuming an insufficient amount will be at higher risk of injury, mood swings and fatigue. A lack of carbohydrate consumption may also affect a young athletes ability to concentrate in school due to reduced cognitive function. Good sources of carbohydrates include whole grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and yoghurt.
Hydration
Get used to monitoring your hydration; It could be a game-changer for you. Dehydration can reduce significant implications to performance and cognitive function. This means you may feel sluggish, slower and generally feeling quite low on energy. The best way to monitor your hydration is to look at the colour of your urine. This may seem a bit strange, but in elite sporting clubs, this is common practice. Join Alex on the pre-match workshop, and he will have a urine colour chart to show you the best hydration levels and homemade sports drinks.
Everyone is different
It is important to remember that everyone is different, and nutrition advice moulds around individuals. Sometimes you have to take the parts that work for you, and Alex can try to help work with your schedule to utilise the best nutritional strategies for you. In addition, nutrition does not need to be complicated, and making small changes over time will only be advantageous for a young athletes development.