Top Tips from a Coach on Nutrition
Top Tips from a Coach on Nutrition
By Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RDN
Getting emails for swimmers, coaches and parents is one of my favorite things about writing on food and nutrition for athletes. I’ve gotten questions from one coach, Coach Allan Kopel, throughout the years and I asked him what tips he has for working with youth swimmers.
Coach Allan has been coaching for almost 40 years and has a great appreciation for the role of nutrition in performance. He has seen good, and not so good practices, on food and fueling for swimmers. He wants to make it clear he is not a nutritionist and is aware of not overreaching scope of practice in all aspects of working with athletes – from nutrition to physical therapy or psychology. He knows when to refer to specialists. But, as a lay person who is a coach, a fitness advocate, and life-long athlete, he reads about all aspects of swimming and taps into experts to get questions answered.
“I like to keep things basic when it comes to nutrition,” he says, and he offers these tips:
