No matter your team level or age group creating a strong eating well & hydration plan is going to help you perform your best… sounds good!? Right!  ;-) 

Although your every day nutrition plan is going to impact your performance most… there are specific day before and day of strategies that will prepare you for a strong tryout performance… interested!?  Here goes…  

3 MUST-DO’s to kill it at tryouts 

#1   Dinner the night before… this dinner has 3 major qualities

1/2 of your plate is vegetables … colorful & beautiful 

Potato for your carbohydrate… there are lots of good carbohydrates to choose from but the potato is my favorite to prepare for an athletic event because it is super easy to digest and contains a ton of potassium, an important electrolyte in muscle contraction 

Quality protein… if you eat meat this is about the size of your palm (3oz) if you are vegetarian, tofu or tempeh is a great option 

#2   A real meal about 1 - 2 hours before tryouts  

This meal is just like the dinner meal, the same 3 major qualities. However… there are some foods to avoid at this meal… 

High fat foods… for example chips, french fries, fatty meats (like a hamburger or ribs), & cheesy dishes like enchaladas. Now these foods are not bad in general, just not great before exercise because fat in meals slows digestion. You will perform your best if your body is not trying to digest and tryout for volleyball at the same time.  

Here’s are a few great meal options: 

Oatmeal: topped with berries, walnuts, and 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (super high in protein)… drizzle with tablespoon honey 

Egg scramble: 2 Whole Eggs, spinach, Peppers, mushrooms, topped with low fat cottage cheese … apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon 

Wrap/sandwich: Chicken breast, loaded with veggies, & a juicy orange on the side 

Grilled salmon with yam (sweet or regular potato) & asparagus (broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, whatever you LOVE :-) 

#3 Great Hydration before and during tryouts is, without a doubt, one of the best strategies to ensure peak performance

Before tryouts hydrate with just plain old water 

1 hour before and during tryouts hydrate with water + electrolytes + carbohydrates…Why electrolytes and carbohydrates you ask?… 

BECAUSE Drinking an electrolyte-carbohydrate beverage enhances performance compared with drinking the same volume of water during prolonged (~ 45–50 min) exercise or in high-intensity, intermittent exercise AKA volley ball tryouts! 

Electrolytes/Carb Recs… 

#1   Tailwind Endurance: Fuel http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/tailwind-endurance-fuel

#2   First Endurance: http://firstendurance.com/nutrition/efspro.html

 #3   Good Old Gatorade  

Family and friends of Silver State… wishing you a great day of tryouts! EAT WELL… HYDRATE… & most importantly have a blast! 

P.S. Here is a great hydration tip…Drink frequently throughout the day, drinking one liter all at once will make you pee more… so your better hydrated if you sip constantly. Do you want to chat more!?  Awesome! contact me at nutritionanswered.com  

Shavawn M. Forester PhD RDN (aka The Nutrient Dense RDN) 

Nutrition Instructor at the University of Nevada Reno 

Founder of Nutrition Answered, LLC 

& the Eating Well Program 

Website: NutritionAnswered.com

email: shavawn@nutritionanswered.com