HYDRATE

Importance of Water During Exercise
Proper hydration is especially important during exercise. Adequate fluid intake for athletes is essential to comfort, performance and safety. The longer and more
intensely you exercise, the more important it is to drink the right kind of fluids.

Dehydration
Athletes need to stay hydrated for optimal performance. Studies have found that
a loss of two or more percent of one's body weight due to sweating is linked to
a drop in blood volume. When this occurs, the heart works harder to move blood
through the bloodstream. This can also cause muscle cramps, dizziness and
fatigue and even heat illness including:
• Heat Exhaustion
• Heat Stroke

Causes of Dehydration
• Inadequate fluid intake
• Excessive sweating
• Failure to replace fluid losses during and after exercise
• Exercising in dry, hot weather
• Drinking only when thirsty

What about Sports Drinks? 
Sports drinks can be helpful to athletes who are exercising at a high intensity
for 60 minutes or more. Fluids supplying 60 to 100 calories per 8 ounces helps to supply the needed calories required for continuous performance. It's really
not necessary to replace losses of sodium, potassium and other electrolytes during exercise since you're unlikely to deplete your body's stores of these minerals during normal training. If, however, you find yourself exercising in extreme conditions over 3 or 5 hours (a marathon, Ironman or ultramarathon,
for example) you may likely want to add a complex sports drink with electrolytes.

Hydration Before Exercise
• Drink about 15-20 fl oz, 2-3 hours before exercise
• Drink 8-10 fl oz 10-15 min before exercise

Hydration During Exercise
• Drink 8-10 fl oz every 10-15 min during exercise
• If exercising longer than 90 minutes, drink 8-10 fl oz of a sports drink (with no
more than 8 percent carbohydrate) every 15 - 30 minutes.

Hydration After Exercise
• Weigh yourself before and after exercise and replace fluid losses.
• Drink 20-24 fl oz water for every 1 lb lost.
• Consume a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein within the 2 hours after exercise
to replenish glycogen stores.

source: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/ProperHydration.htm

You'd be amazed at the important role nutrition plays in the performance of athletes. Many oftoday's professional athletes have hired nutritionists to help them with their
daily diet routines. Intheory, making sure our athletes eat right and eat healthy seems like a terrific idea. In practice,well, let's just say it is easier said than done.

Recently, I attended the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) annualconvention where I attended a seminar conducted by Michelle Rockwell, a professional sportsnutritionist. I have since then kept in touch with her in regards to some of the questions I havebeen asked by parents and athletes and she has been very responsive.

Michelle and others in the nutrition field agree that the daily diet of an athlete should contain:

60 percent carbohydrates (for energy) -- bread, cereal, rice, pasta,
fruits and vegetables

15 percent protein (for muscle growth and recovery) -- lean meats, eggs, dairy products,nuts, beans

25 percent fat (for overall health) -- fish, oils, seeds

Obviously, these are healthy foods, and they can help you, the parent, "fuel" your athlete on aregular basis. But my main concern was: "What about game day?" How can parents help theirchild fuel up properly on game day?

Here are some of Michelle's suggestions:

PRE-GAME MEAL
Have the athlete complete eating a full meal 3 hours prior to the kickoff time.
Include in this meallots of carbs, some protein and very little fat. Be sure to include at least one serving of a fruit orvegetable. Serve absolutely no caffeine. Water or a sports drink. One hour before kickoff, have asmall snack (more on this later) and a bottle of sports drink such as Gatorade.

HALFTIME
Oranges seem to be the favorite here and that is fine. But so are bananas,
watermelon, apples,pretzels, honey, gummy fruit snacks and graham crackers.
Sports drinks (Gatorade) get the nod by professionals over water. (Side Note:
In a recent article by the folks from Gatorade, a study was conducted on soccer
players. Those who drank a bottle of Gatorade at halftime had far lessfatigue in the second half than those who drank water. Other studies have been conducted aswell with similar results. So in this case, at halftime, the "Great Debate: Sports Drinks vs. Water"is really a no-brainer.)

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MATCH
Yogurt, trail mix, a granola bar and a sports drink are preferred here. Athletes
should consumethese small snacks immediately after playing.

One of the other questions I had concerned practices during the week, especially those practices that are scheduled an hour or two right after school. Michelle offered this tip:

SNACKS FOR THE BACKPACK
Dried fruits, nuts, dry cereal, sports bars, cereal bars, nutrition shales, yogurt, string cheese, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (my all-time favorite for whatever that is worth!), and a sportsdrink. All are digested quickly and are healthy. Michelle also suggested asking your child what heor she ate at lunchtime. Parents should look at lunch as being an athlete's "pre-training session"meal.

For more information on nutrition, go to www.usda.gov/cnpp.

source: www.totalsoccerft.com/articles/nutrition.pdf