Pre-Game Meals

The 3-4 hours leading up to a game are a prime opportunity to fuel appropriately. Depending on the nature of your sport, look to consume between 1-4g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass (i.e. 1-4g/kg) within this time frame. For example, this would equate to 70-280g carbohydrate for a 70kg athlete. Some people may wish to consume this as part of a pre-game meal alone, whereas others may wish to have a pre-game snack as well.

Not all carbohydrates are the same. Pre-game meals should comprise of lower glycaemic index (GI) carbohydrate. Low GI carbohydrates provide energy over a longer period of time and can be found in foods such as pasta (cooked al dente), basmati rice, sweet potato and porridge oats.

In addition, try to avoid high-fat foods such as heavy creams, cheese and fatty-meats prior to a game. These foods can take longer to digest and could therefore cause stomach discomfort during a game.

Pre-Game Snacks

Pre-game snacks should comprise of higher glycaemic index carbohydrate to give you a quick burst of energy. These should be consumed ~60-90min prior to the game, which for some may be just before warmup. Great pre-game snacks include the likes of banana, rice cakes and Soreen.

Hydration

Hydration plays an important role in many physiological processes, one being concentration. Your ability to concentrate, read the game and listen to your coach and teammates is critical when it comes to game-day success.  In the lead up to a game, try to have at least a pint of water when you wake up and again alongside your pre-game meal. Always carry a water bottle with you to sip on until the start of the game.

Half-Time Strategies

Carbohydrate is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen; these can be considered as the battery stores in your body. Throughout a game or competition these battery stores start to deplete. Therefore, half-time is the perfect opportunity to re-charge these batteries. Here, food such as jelly babies, flapjack or a sports drink, which all contain high GI carbohydrates, can act as the perfect snack.

Practice Makes Progress

It is important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to game-day nutrition. Training is a perfect opportunity to practice fuelling and half-time strategies. As an example, in the lead up to training you can trial different meals and snacks as well as experiment with when you eat these. Once you feel confident in what you’re eating before training, this can then start to form part of your pre-game nutrition strategy.

References

• Clyde, W., & Serratosa L. 2006. Nutrition on match day. Journal of Sport Sciences. 24(7), pp.687-697.

• Hills, S. &Russell, M. 2018. Carbohydrates for soccer: a focus on skilled actions and half-time practices. 10(1) 22.

• Holway, F. & Spriet, L. 2011. Sport-specific nutrition: practical strategies for team sports. Journal of Sport Sciences. 29(1). Pp. 115-125.