Scoreboards and Suppers — Hockey Pre Game Nutrition That Fuels Performance

The Simple Link Between Hockey and Success

A player recently texted me asking what he should eat before tryouts and when, so I wanted to share my thoughts.

To begin, it’s important to note that everyone is different — people feel differently eating different things. This advice is about listening to your body, not following what everyone else is doing, especially when money is involved.

Decreasing Inflammation for Endurance Athletes

For an endurance athlete like a hockey player, one of the biggest goals should be decreasing inflammation in the body.

If it were me playing, I would eat a larger meal about four hours before and a small portion of fruit right before playing. Remember, larger meal, not heavy. For example, if the game starts at 7:30 p.m., I would prepare food at 3:00 p.m. and have a snack at 6:30 p.m.

Hockey Pre Game Nutrition — What Players Should Eat Before Competing

Personally, my hockey pre game nutrition is built around a combination of organic fruit and vegetables, meat, and fish, in that order. To break it down: no pork, corn, dairy, gluten, soy, or eggs.

I feel good before competing when I have a light meal like wild-caught salmon with broccolini or grass-fed steak with steamed potatoes.

I avoid citric acid and natural flavoring, which is a hidden form of MSG found in most packaged items. While everyone talks about protein, I focus on glucose (sugar) because sugar fuels the body and brain. Sugar from whole foods is beneficial, even though big food corporations have shifted consumer mentalities to increase profits.

I also enjoy meals like bean, pepper, and onion fajita tacos with avocado, tomato, cashew sour cream, cilantro, and lime (grain-free, non-GMO shell) or lentil soup with slices of sweet potato and lime. Citrus is great, and salads should have avocado and no cheese or vinegar. Store-bought dressings often contain citric acid or natural flavors, so I usually make my own.

A Sample Day of Eating

Morning: Lemon water or celery juice (yes, I juice my own celery), followed by a blueberry smoothie with bananas, wild blueberries, a squeeze of orange, and cilantro.

Afternoon / After workout: Potatoes (regular or sweet) with apples, dates, canned pineapple, or a watermelon smoothie with coconut water.

Dinner: Reverse-seared steak with potatoes and green beans. Be creative.

Dessert: Frozen date bars with tahini or frozen mango blended with banana for ice cream.

I transitioned from regular ice cream and Chicago deep-dish pizza to vegan ice cream, small-pint vegan ice cream, and now frozen fruit that tastes like ice cream. It took some time, but it’s worth it.

Final Thoughts

As my old boss used to say:

“You can’t put a price on health.”

You’re going to pay for it now or later. Medical industries don’t go bankrupt. Invest in yourself with healthy food, and you’ll go through life with the energy to actually live.

Want to understand where high-level player development is heading?

Read our core article: The Future of Hockey Development: Remote Coaching: https://www.goldenstickhockey.com/post/the-future-of-hockey-development-remote-coaching

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