Food follows football at UW-Stout training camp
Collegiate football players like those at the University of Wisconsin-Stout just don't eat to eat. A science is involved that keeps their weight up and fluids in tact while training in the hot summer sun before the season begins.
MENOMONIE --- After a three-hour morning practice in the hot August sun while wearing helmets and pads, about 130 UW-Stout football players had one thing on their minds: Getting something to eat and drink.
When players emerged from the locker rooms, they headed in a strung-out line for the dining hall two blocks away at Merle M. Price Commons. School wasn’t in session, but the cafeteria had plenty of food awaiting them from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Along with the main lunch entrée, a roast beef pesto grilled cheese sandwich, they could get a vegetable and stop at the 80- to 100-item salad bar, burger bar, cereal bar or dessert bar.
“I’m trying to maintain my weight during training camp, so I’m eating whatever I can get in my mouth,” said Devon Greiber, a 260-pound freshman offensive lineman from Waunakee.
With the heat and humidity and two-a-day practices, players know they need plenty of fluids and food to keep their bodies hydrated and fueled. They pay $16.70 a day during training camp to help the football program cover dining hall costs. They get three meals a day, prepared according to federal guidelines, and it’s all they can eat, except for the entrees.
“It’s healthy food and quite a bit of selection. I probably eat better here than at home. You don’t go hungry, that’s for sure,” Greiber said.
That’s what Coach Clayt Birmingham likes to hear.
“Food service does a great job. They always have a salad bar out and a lot of healthy options,” Birmingham said.
Recent dinners have included high-protein chicken entrees served several ways, oven-fried, teriyaki, Tuscan and barbecued. “Protein items -- they’re all over that,” said Brian Kalscheuer, a service manager in the dining hall.
UW-Stout’s coaches don’t control the menu or what players eat -- the dining hall also serves other early-arriving athletes and student groups before residence halls open Sept. 5 -- but coaches make sure players are educated about making good choices.
Jane Foos, a registered dietitian with Red Cedar Sports Medicine in Menomonie, works with all Blue Devils teams and athletes. She gives a presentation early on to football players about the three Rs: rehydrate, refuel, repair. “If they can do those three things, they probably are going to eat in a more healthful way and fuel their training,” Foos said.
To help players rehydrate properly, they are weighed before and after each practice. Some players can lose five to seven pounds of water weight per practice, too much to regain quickly through fluids alone, so Foos educates them about eating water-based foods, such as potatoes, pasta and fruits and vegetables.
To help them refuel, she explains the need for a sport drink plus a sport bar or other quick-energy source within 30 minutes of practice.
To repair their stressed muscles, she tells them to eat foods rich in protein.
“Our main focus is fuel through food and not to have an overdependence on supplements,” said Foos, who also advises the UW-La Crosse men’s cross country and track and field teams.
Birmingham is glad Foos works with the team not only in the preseason but during the season. She helps the team plan what meals to eat on game days and how to refuel during games. She also works with players one-on-one if needed.
“Athletes nowadays are very conscious of their health and are avid weightlifters, but nutrition probably is the area they know least about,” Birmingham said. “Jane teaches kids how to turn that fuel into muscle instead of fat.”
Beyond the nutritional aspect of the food, Birmingham and his coaching staff use meal time to help players bond. The team has a program called Dinner with a Teammate. Veteran players are required to ask rookies to a one-on-one dinner to help the new players assimilate.
“Dinner with a Teammate has been a big thing for our team chemistry,” said Birmingham, who is in his first year as head coach and previously served as an assistant.
Players typically have one-hour windows when lunch, breakfast and dinner are available, but on some evenings dinner is served for 2 hours, 15 minutes.
University Dining Services is owned and operated by UW-Stout. Along with Merle M. Price Commons, it has a new student dining operation on north campus, North Point, and operates several restaurants at the Memorial Student Center.
The Blue Devils, 8-2 last season, open the season Friday, Sept. 3, against Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D.
Tags: sports, football, proam, food, fccnetwork
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