How did you start your career in sports nutrition?
I started my career in this field back in 2011 as an undergraduate at Arizona State University. My professor was probably mad at me because I added that he or she was an athlete, no matter what kind of patient was given the case study. I remember doing strength training and added that she was an athlete. So each project I had to do was always related to sports nutrition. My professor knew that I was very interested in sports nutrition and wanted to do it in my career.
Thankfully, I was able to take a sports nutrition class as a junior, and my professor introduced me to college and professional sports dietitian associations. From there, I joined as a student member, was able to attend their conference, and through networking, learned about a nutritionist employed at Arizona State University. I told her that I was very interested in I finally got the job and that’s how I got my start.
Through the CPSDA, I was able to join the Sports Immersion Program hosted by Gatorade, so I interned in Auburn. I always ask interns to show that you are, in essence, irreplaceable, precious enough to leave a gaping hole when the time is up. That internship was extended to a spring internship, which became a fresh graduate assistant position for me, and Auburn’s first full-time assistant nutritionist position, so that’s how I was able to get my start. Each led to new roles.
I then went to Texas A&M as a Football Performance Nutritionist and when the position opened up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, my husband Casey and I made the decision to pursue our NFL dreams. He was very supportive and willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. Luckily his company is great and I can work from his home. So we were able to move him 3-4 times across the country.
Could you tell me the schedule?
I oversee all of my players’ nutritional needs, whether off-season, pre-season, regular-season facility or at home. Expand food.Players are in the building from 6am to 9pm or 10pm
During the regular season, players will be in the building from 6:00 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m. depending on their position group. We’re helping them understand what their evening routine looks like, whether they have families or are single guys trying to figure out life in Tampa When it comes to nutrition, we want to help them make successful choices. It covers the in-flight meal and the state of the next morning.
There is a lot of preparation that goes into it all. We worked his 27 straight weeks during the 2020 NFL season that went to the Super Bowl. We’re at a facility with players every day, and that’s literally every day since the rookies started showing up at camp.
Wow that’s a lot of time. I would like to summarize the year. How do you approach the training camp phase when you have roughly twice as many players at your facility as in the regular season?
Everything operational is there besides working individually with 90 players during training camp. That’s why we try to create personalized fueling and hydration plans to make sure our players have everything they need to perform well in practice and games.
At the same time, we are in constant contact with the hotels we stay in during the regular season, whether it’s our home hotel or faraway cities, including Munich, Germany. While he meets one specific player for specific needs, he also has to think about the big picture for the week of the game and the weeks ahead, so his goals are constantly changing.
A good example of this is trying to look at four or five different cities that you might end up playing in as the postseason approaches. After that, you will have to collect a number of items in advance to send to them. load game. Hopefully, it makes life a lot easier so you can get the first seed.
With the Bucs playing their first NFL game in Germany, how do you plan such an extensive trip?
My first international game was in London 2019 when the Bucks played the Panthers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It was a wild experience. When I took the position earlier that year, I knew the game was coming. I hadn’t yet seen my team’s game needs.
Using that experience, I am very happy to be designated as the first home team for the game in Germany. It was very exciting to be in that match and I was on a scouting trip to see how we stayed, practiced, played games and the planning and logistics of how it all breaks down. I was able to join the team. We started talking to the hotel staff over the summer about our stay and culinary needs. Again, goals are always moving, but things have been moving since months before that.
