By Brianna Rhone, 07/31/24, 4:00PM EDT
Brooke Dummer, camp nutritionist for the Girls National 15 Camp, driven by AAA, educates campers on small nutritional changes for big game results.
OXFORD, Ohio – Protein snacks, carbohydrates and electrolyte refueling options fill the overflowing tables of the regeneration stations across the winding hallways of Miami University’s Goggin Ice Center at USA Hockey’s Girls National 15 Camp, driven by AAA.
There’s no question that nutrition off the ice is just as important as the on-ice training taking place for the 216 girls participating in camp.
Brooke Dummer, a registered dietician and a nutritionist for the Girls National 15 Camp, has been helping players learn that maintaining a balanced diet during the summer months is just as vital as polishing their game during the offseason.
Less ice time and more dryland training in the hot summer months requires athletes to replenish electrolytes and increase their carbohydrate and protein intake as they build muscles following long stretches in the gym. Without a strict nutrition regimen, many athletes begin to neglect all-important dietary needs to help them produce optimal results.
“Throughout the summer, especially with how hot it’s been, we want to make sure that we’re keeping up with our electrolyte and our fluid needs,” Dummer said. “Hydration is a component that people often forget about because when we think of nutrition we’re automatically thinking about food. But we think of that fluid intake as being the shuttle that’s moving those nutrients to our muscles and to our brain, so that we’re having those more optimal workouts.”
Sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas and fruit drinks become favorites for many athletes while they are away from the rink. These beverages and fast food runs become more common as athletes enjoy those hot summer days with family and friends.
Although fun in the interim, athletes in training may begin to see their performance begin to suffer on the ice because of it.
For players who attend multiple hockey camps throughout the summer, those small bites can lead to big consequences. Putting together an ideal Athletes’ Plate can help optimize energy during the grueling workouts.
“Nutrition holds just as important of a role as what they’re doing out on the ice or in the weight room,” Dummer said. “We are fueling functionally and treating food as our sole energy source. We’re not getting energy necessarily from just our Starbucks runs or supplemental drinks. Our energy is truly coming from our carbohydrate sources, and then our protein is helping to optimize that recovery.”
With all the information on social media that flies across the feeds of young hockey players, finding accurate and purposeful information is important.
“There’s so much nutrition noise because of access to social media that has kind of demonized certain food groups, with carbohydrates being a big one of those foods that’s been demonized, and then protein has been moved to a higher emphasis. And, of course, with each of our macronutrients, we have our fats, our carbs, and our proteins that all hold their own specific roles.”
Macronutrients can be an intimidating word for young players, but they’re in almost everything they consume. Carbohydrates, fat and protein make up macronutrients, and are all equally important in helping athletes maintain top conditioning.
The Athletes’ Plate has three designated meal structures for the athlete based on their training. Each meal structure utilizes macronutrients, with all having equivalent value in sustaining the body’s needs for energy and maintain the body’s essential functions.
“We can’t overemphasize one and lose sight of that plate structure, so we need to include all of them on our plates at every meal and every snack, because they all hold their own roles for us,” Dummer said.
The five-day camp in the heart of Oxford, Ohio saw all 216 players partaking in rigorous schedules chalked full of practices, games and strength and conditioning training, while walking over three miles throughout the sprawling campus. With a tight-packed schedule, it could be easy for an athlete to not consider pre- and post-recovery meals or snacks.
For Dummer, this is a teaching moment for the camp attendees. The development of beneficial nutritional habits includes throwing out the snacks that make you feel sluggish by not providing adequate energy, focusing on the post recovery meal and being intentional with your nutrition.
“For this, we’d look for more of our liquid options. Even a simple glass of chocolate milk can do the trick, and a lot of those ready to drink protein shakes might offer energy and electrolytes,” Dummer said. “Maybe not everybody has access to those protein drinks, but you can still piece together your recovery with grabbing a carb, grabbing a protein, and then rehydrating. Maybe it’s a peanut butter jelly sandwich with a Gatorade. Maybe it’s just a glass of chocolate milk and a banana. You can really puzzle piece it together.”
Dummer’s tables spilling with snacks showcased the ways an athlete can mix and match their post-recovery meal.
A routine created in the summer can lead to big changes when the season starts back up again with vigor. Creating good habits in the offseason are indispensable to an athlete’s development, and creating dietary practices that can carry into the season are crucial.
“We want to make sure that athletes know about the access, and functionally how these snacks are serving them. It’s great for them to walk out of their locker room and see a table full of snacks,” Dummer said. “I want them to be replicating the same thing by loading up their gym bags or their hockey bags with similar looking snacks, and they’ve really been leaning into the Go-Go squeezes. Everybody is really loving the Go-Go Squeezes, but we can incorporate those Chewy bars, and those Goldfish.”
