Expert: Michael Muro - 2/28/2005

Question
Can you suggest a good menu for high school boys to follow on the day of a big game?

Answer
Hi J,

It depends on what time you are playing but most of the games are in the evening. What worked for us when we had an evening game was we would let the players eat what they wanted for breakfast. We would always have a mandatory team meal 4 hours before each game. The meal would consist of pasta, salad, bread, fruit drinks and water. We would not allow fast food or sodas (no caffeine) before a game. Caffeine produces cramps during a game so we make sure we stay away from all caffeine products. We learned from experience as we did buffets and that was a total disaster. The team ate well but was so sluggish on the court; we never did that again, only after a game. We tried the fast food places because of economical reasons but that to had negative effects on the team's performance. One year we had 3 of are starters sneak out to a Chinese place before a game and all 3 got sick and were no help to the team. We have had success with pasta meals as everybody likes it and nobody has become ill from it. They might get a little hungry right before the game so we always have fruit and energy bars in the locker room just in case. I hope this helps.