Tournament Nutrition Basics

It’s a fact that a hockey player’s on ice performance is directly related to the quality of their nutrition program. Never is this fact more obvious or important than at tournament time. 

Recovery Is The Secret

Attending a tournament often means traveling long distances, playing multiple games in a single day and  playing on back to back days. All of these factors put a tremendous strain on an athletes ability to recover—and let’s be very clear—recovery is the key to performance, especially during a tournament.

If you have a morning game and an afternoon game the number one thing you need to do to ensure your performance level is the same in both is to maximize recovery after your first game. Same goes for day 2, 3, etc. if you want to finish the tournament with the same energy and performance level that you started then it’s imperative that you’re focused on maximizing your recovery throughout the entire tournament.  

Eating Healthy vs. Fueling For Performance

“Carb Loading” the night before, eating a big breakfast, downing some energy drinks pregame or simply “eating clean” are not successful strategies that will yield peak performance or recovery come game time. To the contrary, most of these things can end up actually hurting your performance. Just because you consume food does not mean your body is fueled. 

Fueling your body for optimal performance and recovery at a tournament requires planning and attention to detail. Nutrient ratios, quantity, timing, digestion, assimilation, hydration are just a few of the things that need to be taken into account when coming up with your tournament nutrition strategy. 

In this article I’m going to breakdown this complex process into a simple, easy to follow plan that you can use at your next tournament to dramatically improve your performance.

It All Starts Here

First I need to lay some ground work and briefly explain four critical components necessary to nutritionally prepare your body to perform at an optimal level in a hockey game and then fully recover to optimally perform again in your next hockey game…even if they are only a few hours apart.

Each of these components is worthy of it’s own series of articles but for now, a basic summary will help you understand the strategy behind the meal plan I’m about to  show you. 

• Muscle Glycogen

Glycogen is broken down carbohydrates stored in your muscle tissue that are used as the preferred fuel source for your muscles. Hockey is a glycolytic sport which means we need our muscle glycogen stores to be full before taking the ice. 

• Blood Glucose

Blood glucose is available sugar circulating in your bloodstream. Blood glucose fuels your nervous system which is very important for hockey players because the nervous system is what controls your muscles. 

• Protein

Protein is made of amino acids and is used by your body to repair and build muscle tissue. Playing hockey breaks down muscle tissue making it important to have an adequate supply of available amino acids both intra and post game for your muscles to recover.

• Hydration

Water plays a critical role in all bodily functions. From basic digestion to more complex functions like glycogen transport, protein synthesis and beyond—without proper hydration and electrolyte balance it’s impossible to reach optimal performance. 

As little as a 1% decrease in body water will significantly reduce cardiovascular capability regardless of how hard you’ve trained or how in shape you are. A 2% decrease in body water reduces muscular endurance so things like skating, shot power and the ability to win 1 on 1 battles will all be adversely affected.

Preparation Is The Key To Winning

At a minimum and for the purpose of this discussion, tournament nutrition starts the day before your first game. 

Maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte balance throughout the day is a critical first step. If you’re traveling a long distance especially by plane this is an even bigger concern and is still required even though it may not be as convenient. 

Make sure to prep and pack as much food as you can including your supplements. If you’re traveling out of town you’ll want to head straight to the nearest grocery store for essentials as well as source some restaurant options close by that can provide you with options that fit both your meal plan and schedule. 

If you’re considering having a high carbohydrate meal the day before your first game to “load up”, you’ll want to do that early in the day at lunch as opposed to later at dinner. Dinner should remain on the lighter side consisting of a low fat protein, low glycemic carbohydrates and minimal amount of fats. 

It’s Game Time

Game 1 

Pregame Meal- You want to have your pregame meal 1-3 hours before your game. Your pregame meal should consist of 25-35 grams of protein and 25-35 grams of carbohydrates and little to no fat or fiber. 

• Example: 3 eggs, 1 serving of oatmeal and 1/2 cup fresh fruit.
• Alternate: 1 cup Greek yogurt, 2 slices wheat toast and 1/2 cup fresh fruit.
• Never: Sugary cereals, donuts or pastries, breakfast bars, anything containing only carbs and lacking protein.

Intra Game Shake- During your game along with your water, it would be ideal for you to have 10-15 grams of protein along with 20-40 grams of carbohydrates and some electrolytes. This will start the process of replenishing your bodies amino acids and glycogen while you’re still playing to speed the recovery process. 

Postgame Shake- Immediately following your game, while you’re still undressing, you want to have a recovery shake. This shake should contain 20-30 grams of protein and 40-50 grams of carbohydrates. 

• Example: 1-2 Scoops of whey protein isolate, 1-2 scoops of carbohydrate powder mixed with 6-8 ounces of water. 
• Alternate: 8-16 oz of low-fat chocolate milk.
• Never: Soda or candy.

Postgame Meal- Your postgame meal should be about an hour after your first game finishes and will most likely also serve as your pregame meal for your second game. Again we’re going to go with 25-35 grams of protein and 25-35 grams of carbohydrates and little to no fat or fiber. 

• Example: 1 chicken breast and 1 cup of rice (optional peas or corn).
• Alternate: Sub-sandwich with roasted chicken or turkey, no mayo or oil, skip the onions and a cup of chicken soup.
• Never: Chicken nuggets, burgers, pizza, soda/juice/lemonade, fast food, anything fried.

Game 2

Intra Game Shake- During your game along with your water, it would be ideal for you to have 10-15 grams of protein along with 20-40 grams of carbohydrates and some electrolytes. 

• Example: 1 scoop whey protein isolate, I scoop of carbohydrate powder, a couple pinches of pink Himalayan sea salt mixed in 8-10 ounces of water. 
• Alternate: Gatorade mixed with water, fig bar.
• Never: Energy drinks, PB&J, cookies.

Postgame Shake- Immediately following your game, while you’re still undressing, you want to have a recovery shake. This shake should contain 20-30 grams of protein and 40-50 grams of carbohydrates. 

• Example: 1-2 Scoops of protein powder, 1-2 scoops of carbohydrate powder mixed with 6-8 ounces of water.
• Alternate: 8-16 oz of low-fat chocolate milk.
• Never: Soda, candy, sugary snacks.

Postgame Meal- Your postgame meal should be about an hour after your game finishes. For this meal you can relax a little bit, but let’s not go crazy—remember you have to wake up and do it all over again tomorrow.  You can have 30-40 grams of protein, 40-50 grams of carbohydrates and 20-25 grams of fat. 

• Example: Steak or fish, rice or baked potato (light sour cream/butter), green salad with light dressing (preferably vinegar and oil based).
• Alternate: Pasta with red sauce, chicken breast, green salad with light dressing (preferably vinegar and oil based.
• Never: Pizza, burgers, soda/juice/lemonade, fast food, anything fried.

Late Night Snack- Depending on the timing of your postgame meal you could want to have a light snack before bedtime. 

• Example: I cup of nonfat Greek yogurt with ½ cup of blueberries
• Alternate: Beef jerky, trail mix with dried fruit, apple with peanut butter.
• Never: Chips, ice cream, cake.

Let’s Do It Again

Now that you made it through your first successful tournament day, get to bed early and get a good nights sleep so you can wake up fully recovered and be ready to do it all over again tomorrow.