5 tips for fuelling during summer tournaments

Can you believe it's already May? That means summer tournament season is almost here.

But with players on the road and tournament schedules ever-changing, knowing what to eat, and the right amount, can be difficult.

However, fuelling correctly and keeping well hydrated is imperative to survive the heat of competition. So here are five tips for your players to feel their best in summer tournaments.

01 - HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!

In summer, it is important to stay hydrated during games. At a minimum, players should drink half their body weight in ounces of water. So, a player weighing 140lbs should drink around 70oz of water per day.

It is important to establish a solid hydration routine around game day to prevent cramps and regulate body temperature. Players should have 16-32oz of water about 2-3 hours before a game, and an additional 8-10oz of an electrolyte-containing drink around an hour before.

If your game is early in the morning, players should drink water throughout the day before and add an electrolyte drink to their pre-game fuel in the morning.

In an ideal situation, players should drink 8-10oz of fluids every 15-20 minutes during the game. It is likely, though, they might not get a chance to rehydrate until halftime.

I suggest sipping on at least 10oz of a cold sports drink at the beginning of halftime. This will help players refuel and rehydrate, and allow their stomach to settle before the second half.

After the game, players should try to drink 24oz of fluids per pound of bodyweight lost to replenish what was lost in sweat.

02 - CARB-LOAD BEFORE A GAME

When it comes to maximizing performance during tournaments (and soccer games in general), carbs are important.

Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in your muscle and liver. This is a player's main source of fuel during a match and helps prevent them from running out of energy by the second half - they will lose about 95 per cent of their stored glycogen in a 90-minute match.

"At a minimum, players should drink half their body weight in ounces of water..."

Players can start loading up the night before a game by eating a meal with at least half

the plate consisting of carbohydrates such as rice, pasta or potatoes. This meal is extremely important if players have trouble fuelling throughout the tournament.

Tournament days can be extremely hot and this will likely decrease players' appetites, making it harder to fuel and refuel.

Not only will a meal like this fuel players for the next day, the carbs will also help improve their sleep quality and make them feel recovered come game time.