Tip of the Month - July 2026
Correct Sport Nutrition Is A Factor You Cannot Overlook
The Fall and Start-up Sport Season is nearing, shifting our focus to one of the most overlooked areas of athlete development:
Nutrition
Coaches spend many hours designing practices, teaching technique, and developing stronger athletes. However, you can't out-train poor nutrition! There are too many occasions when athletes train in the ‘wee hours’ of the morning (swimmers especially!), heading to training with a banana or a muffin in the car while Mom drives, and then heading to school after training, with nutrition taking the beating! The athlete who arrives dehydrated, skips breakfast, doesn't eat properly before practice, or misses recovery nutrition will never fully benefit from all the work the coach is doing. Training provides the physical, physiological, and mental catalyst, spur, or incentive, but nutrition is the determining factor in how well the athlete adapts. You don't need to be a sports dietitian or expert to make a meaningful difference.
The IYCA Team has developed a new free resource: Eat to Compete: A Coach's Quick Guide to Fueling Athletes for Performance with information and guidelines:
The 8 biggest nutrition mistakes quietly costing athletes performance
Simple coaching strategies you can implement immediately
A practical fueling timeline for practices and competition
Meal and snack ideas coaches can confidently recommend
Sideline and locker room resources you can use with your athletes and families
Everything is designed to be practical, evidence-informed, and easy to implement with youth athletes.
Download Your Free Guide Here
https://iyca.org/athletenutritionguide
The IYCA Team will continue to share practical coaching strategies throughout August on hydration, fueling, recovery nutrition, and helping athletes build habits that support both performance and long-term development.
The IYCA Team
Educate. Elevate. Excellence.
Reference:
Kielbasio, J (2026, July 26). New free Guide: Eat to compete. Novi, MI: International Youth Coaching Association (IYCA). jim@news.iyca.org