What girls hockey players eat before their game is usually a matter of personal preference. Players, parents and coaches always ask me what the “ideal” pre-game meal is. And my answer is always, “Something that will give you the energy you need to perform your best throughout the game. It has to be easy to prepare – and above all else, the player has to enjoy eating it”.

You might find it helpful to see how my pre-game meals evolved from high school up until the present.
The Evolution of Kim’s Pre-Game Nutrition:

Pre-College Pre-Game Nutrition:

I am a little bit embarrassed to admit what my pre-game meal was all through high school. Here it goes: two frozen waffles with peanut butter and jelly. OK – so it wasn’t the healthiest meal ever, but it was quick and easy to prepare and gave me the energy I needed to feel great throughout the game. Looking back on it, this pre-game meal wasn’t all that bad. It had enough carbohydrates in the waffles to give me energy and the fat and protein in the peanut butter to keep me full for a while. I would have been better off having whole-wheat waffles and healthier peanut butter (without all the sugar), but it was a pretty decent choice overall.

College Pre-Game Nutrition:

Pasta + Chicken + Tomato Sauce = Every single pre-game meal I ate in college. We went to the same restaurant for every pre-game meal when we had home games and ordered the same thing on the road. It was definitely a healthy option to have before the game, although I found that the acid in the tomato sauce didn’t react well particularly well with me, so I always had plain pasta with chicken. I have to admit that it was a little boring for four years – but it served it’s purpose.

Post-College Pre-Game Nutrition:

Once I left college, I never wanted to eat the pre-game meal of pasta and chicken with tomato sauce ever again. I quickly found a new pre-game meal ritual that I continued for almost 5 years. I always tried to eat the exact meal before every game: a bowl of oatmeal, a banana and a couple of hard-boiled eggs. Not only was it a balanced meal from a nutritional perspective, but I really enjoyed it. In fact, I would even eat this breakfast in the late afternoon before a night game. I would eat this 2 hours before I had to start my off-ice warm-up and never felt hungry during the game.

I was by no means perfect in terms of pre-game nutrition, but I did pretty well.

What is your favorite pre-game meal? Is it giving you all the energy you need to get through the game and play your best? What do you think you could do better?

For a complete nutrition program that’s specific to the needs of young female athletes, check out Game Winning Nutrition here.

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

Your friend and coach,

~ Coach Kim