Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan 1

The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan Kathryn Saunders u!urn "ni#ersity $ontgomery

Background Information

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan % thletes put an o#er&helming amount of stress on their !odies' Proper nutrition is crucial in helping them to stay physically and mentally healthy &hile pro#iding them the energy they need to perform' nutritionist for the 1(() World

Cup &omens soccer team documented that appro*imately +,- of their starting lineup felt that their nutrition had little do &ith their performance.Kir/endall0 %,,)10 so not only are our youth struggling &ith the importance of nutrition0 so too are our professionals' s the num!er of competiti#e &omens sports increases0 so too does the stress of !alancing attracti#e feminine characteristics &ith those of an optimal competitor' Too often female athletes are pressured &ith competiti#e e*cellence as &ell as constant attention to achie#ing and maintaining the 2ideal3 !ody &eight and4or 2optimal3 !ody fat' 5ue to these stresses0 recent studies sho& that as high as 6%- of female athletes ha#e some form of eating disorder .7eager0 K'0 gostini0 R'0 Natti#0 '0 and 5rin/&ater0 8'0 1((91' 5isordered eating is used to descri!e a &ide range of irregular eating !eha#iors that include !ut are not limited to anore*ia and !ulimia' menorrhea and :steoporosis are also common disorders &ithin the

female athletic population' Recent data compiled !y Ste#en 8lair .8ar;:r0 5'0 et al'01 suggest that the fluctuation in !ody &eight0 such as 27o;7o3 dieting0 may !e directly related to mor!idity and mortality' <ood is important in sustaining life and #ery often poor nutrition is lin/ed to poor !eha#ioral patterns0 poor self;image and a lac/ of education' Humans li#e according to many different patterns' 8eha#ioral patterns are ho& an indi#idual or groups react to a stimulus' Typically0 !eha#ioral patterns are formed from routines in order to reduce stress to allo& an indi#idual to remain in control' Ho&e#er0 there are times &hen our !eha#ioral patterns are a hindrance

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan 9 and cause harmful responses' The difficulty is that sometimes it is hard for indi#iduals to recogni=e unhealthy !eha#ioral patterns and then e#en harder to change them' Changing !eha#ioral patterns can !e difficult and re>uires time0 patience and a plan' 8eha#ioral patterns are not only the acti#ities &e do0 !ut many times they are related to the emotions &e ha#e' Therefore0 it is important to remain a&are of the foundations and emotions !eha#ioral patterns are !ased upon' ll !eha#ioral

patterns de#elop from four !asic influences: models &e see0 roles &e hold0 !eliefs &e ha#e0 and the coping s/ills &e de#elop ."hler0 %,,+1' "sing that information

one can then identify the pattern to !e changed0 understand the !eliefs related to the !eha#ior0 disco#er the feelings connected to the !eha#ior and identify the gains to !e made in changing the !eha#ior' "nderstanding the foundation and ha#ing a plan ma/es changing !eha#ioral patterns feasi!le' :nes diet and nutritional ha!its are a !eha#ioral pattern in that they are ho& people react to the stimulus0 food' s discussed earlier0 athletes struggle &ith their

patterns to&ards food' The difficulty may stem from many different pro!lems such as lac/ of education0 lac/ of modeling0 lac/ of support or lac/ of follo&;through' Whate#er the reason0 research sho&s that a female athletes diet is e*tremely important to their mental and physical health as &ell as their total &ell !eing' Therefore0 it is the goal of this study to help the u!urn "ni#ersity $ontgomery

&omens soccer team change their perspecti#e on healthy nutrition to ensure optimal athletic success through education0 demonstration0 e#aluation and support' The %,1,;11 u!urn "ni#ersity $ontgomery &omens soccer team is in their first season &ith a ne& coaching staff' The team has four seniors0 si* ?uniors0 ele#en sophomores and one freshman &ith a mean age of a!out %6 years of age0

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan ) and they originate from fi#e different countries ."nited States0 @ngland0 Aceland0 8ermuda and Canada1' The need for nutritional guidelines &as recogni=ed during preseason &hen players &ere !ecoming sic/ from improper nutrition and hydration' Therefore it &as decided that the coaching staff &ould ta/e a three pronged approach to support healthy nutrition !y means of education0 demonstration and e#aluation'

Implementation Education Phase: The education of players and supporters &as the first o!?ecti#e' The coaching staff used multiple forms of communication such as ne&sletters .article 110 po&er points .article % and article 910 >uestion and ans&er sessions .article )1 and personal inter#ie&s .article +1 in their approach to educate' The ne&sletter &ent out to supporters discussing the &eather and the importance of nutrition' Second &ere the po&er point presentations &hich &ere !rief discussions on simple game related topics such as pre;game0 post;game0 and hydration' The purpose of these presentations &as to inform and !egin a&areness of the pro!lems seen !y the coaching staff' Third &ere >uestion and ans&er sessions done throughout the season !ased on topics such as !rea/fast and supplements' Bast &ere indi#idual inter#ie&s in order to gain personal information a!out their past history' 5uring these sessions important personal information &as gained' :#erall education &as the first priority0 !ecause it is hard to change any !eha#ioral pattern &ithout understanding the facts first' Ne&sletter

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan + At &as the goal of the ne&sletter to inform people &ho &ere supporting the girls at a distance !y gi#ing them information and feed!ac/ from preseason' Ancluded in the ne&sletter &ere the current temperature records and a prompting to remind the girls of their nutrition' The ne&sletter did not gi#e in;depth information0 rather it &as hoped that it &ould gi#e a chance for the girls to tal/ a!out &hat they &ere learning and open up path&ays for discussion and support outside the soccer family' $any people positi#ely commented on the ne&sletter0 !ut there &ere ne#er any direct comments a!out the information ne&sletter' pro#ided in the

Po&er Points Ne&sletter: rticle 1 The goal of the po&er points &as to directly educate and inform the team' The first po&er point presentation &as one &ee/ after pre;season &as o#er' The po&er point &as handed out and !riefly discussed' The topics co#ered in this discussion &ere the challenges to the athletes diet0 signs of poor nutrition0 results of poor nutrition0 and the importance of hydration' The second po&er point presentation &as four &ee/s after pre;season' An this !rief lecture the coaching staff tal/ed a!out the importance of the fuels0 pre and post game meals0 and sample foods' 8oth presentations &ere under 9, minutes and ended in a time of >uestions and ans&ers' At &as the goal of the coaching staff to use positi#e forms of communicationsC ne#er condemning the current !eha#ioral patterns0 !ut rather suggesting areas of impro#ement'

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan 6 <ollo&ing the second lecture one of the players as/ed to tal/ &ith a coach pri#ately' s they tal/ed she re#ealed that she had pre#iously had a difficult time

&ith her &eight' The group discussion helped to open the doors0 !ut the indi#idual discussion help to deal &ith negati#e emotions she had associated &ith food' The t&o discussed her constant lac/ of positi#e support from her family and &ays that the coaching staff could support her efforts to change her nutritional ha!its' Her &illingness to !e open and pro#ide input &ould e#entually lead to a fe& of the Po&er Point: % demonstration phase' rticle techni>ues the coaching staff used in the

Po&er Point: rticle 9

Duestion and

ns&er Sessions

The >uestion and ans&er session topics came from common >uestions the coaching staff heard during discussions or felt needed to !e addressed' The first >uestion and ans&er session came follo&ing the first early 6 am &or/out and &as a!out the importance of !rea/fast' 5uring this session the coaching staff came up &ith a fe& >uestions and facts a!out the importance of !rea/fast and let the rest of the >uestions come from the girls' The ma?ority of their >uestions stemmed from &hat to eat &hen an indi#idual &as in a hurry or did not li/e !rea/fast' These ga#e the coaching staff a good opportunity to discuss

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan E personal ha!its and suggestions as &ell as open the floor up for group discussion' n additional0 less formal >uestion and ans&er session &as gi#en on the use of supplements' Common >uestions came up a!out &hy0 &hat and ho& to use proper supplements' 5uring all of the topics it &as e#ident that the team !ecame more united and supporti#e of one another' They e#en decided as a group to start doing pre;game meals the night !efore a game together to help support each other in the continued effort of proper nutrition' An addition0 a fe& of the girls set nutritional goals for themsel#es' The goals ranged from eliminating certain things from their diet to drin/ing a stated amount of &ater' At &as o!#ious to the coaching staff that the educational phase &as !eginning to plan seeds for impro#ement' Andi#idual Anter#ie&s 5uring the pre;season inter#ie& one !asic >uestion &as as/ed to all of the playersC 2Ho& good do you thin/ your nutrition is and ho& can it !e made !etterF3 :#er all the players responded positi#ely0 !ut all !elie#ed it &as not good enough' They commonly related to the struggle for time and access to proper foods' They also tal/ed a!out not /no&ing &hat &as good and &hat &as !ad' At &as the goal of the coaching staff to use this information to determine a !aseline' An addition0 important information &as gained a!out indi#iduals and their personal struggles' :n multiple occasions0 pre#ious coaches had negati#ely affected indi#idual eating ha!its due to improper demands or poor communication' The coaching staff made sure to treat e#ery case indi#idually0 !ut also made a point to !e positi#e and encouraging in the messages they &ere deli#ering' n e*ample of this &as &hen one player di#ulged poor !eha#ioral eating pro!lems follo&ing an in?ury' The poor !eha#ioral eating pro!lems stemmed from a pre#ious coachs ina!ility to communicate and effecti#ely moti#ate the reco#ering

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan G athlete' Throughout the season0 a coach and the player met regularly to tal/ a!out the grief cycle she &as still in' :#er time the athlete de#eloped !etter !eha#ioral patterns and ended up ha#ing an outstanding season' 5emonstration and Support Phase: Ne*t &as demonstration and support' $any athletes eat &hat is put in front of them for con#enience &ithout thin/ing a!out the needs their !odies ha#e' Therefore the first o!?ecti#e &as to ha#e proper hydration and snac/s on the !usC closely follo&ed !y proper pre and post game meals' Typically the information that &as presented in the education phase &as no& used in the demonstration phase' An addition0 the coaching staff &or/ed carefully to monitor &hat they ate in order to demonstrate proper nutrition in front of the players' To aid in this process ad?usted menus &ere de#eloped' When the team ate at a restaurant the coaching staff &ould help the players ma/e !etter choices !y limiting the sections of the menus they could order off of' Through this type of planning the coaches &ere a!le to !oth demonstrate and support &ise nutritional patterns' 8us 5emonstration :n a&ay trips the coaching staff too/ care of ma/ing sure that &ater0 Hatorade0 trailmi* and fruit &as a#aila!le on e#ery trip' The goal &as to supply them &ith health options for ease0 con#enience and training' $any of the girls purchased their food from the local grocery store' The purpose &as to pro#ide the team &ith a fe& fast0 simple0 ine*pensi#e &ays to /eep their !odies properly fed throughout the day' Research sho&s that the athletes digesti#e system is !est used &ith multiple small meals or as some researchers put it 2a constant gra=e of proper fuels3 ta/es place' This also helps the team to create healthy ha!its

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan ( allo&ing them to de#elop healthy regular eating patterns that &ere discussed in the education phase' Pre and Post Hame $eals An addition to proper 2snac/ foods3 meals &ere placed on a proper schedule of the correct nutrients' :n o#ernight trips0 meal times &ere prior to G:,,pm and included high car!ohydrate options' :n one day trips0 pre;game meals &ere al&ays scheduled for three hours prior to game time and al&ays included meals high in starches &ith limited proteins and fats' This &as to allo& for proper digestion time as &ell as properly energi=ing the !ody' @arly in the season the coaching staff &ould limit the menu to &hat they !elie#ed to !e appropriate0 !ut as the season continued these stipulations &ere remo#ed' An addition to supporting the information gi#en to them during the education phase0 it &as also the goal of the coaching staff to pro#ide proper modeling' The team !egan to notice that meal times may not al&ays ha#e !een the most con#enient0 !ut they &ere a priority' The team also noted that the coaching staff changed departure time0 placed call;a;head orders or had group meal times in the dining hall' $any girls tal/ed in depth a!out the ease of proper nutrition &hen one &as prepared' <or e*ample0 one young lady tal/ed a!out ho& pre#iously she &ould eat fast food !ecause of the ease e#en though she /ne& the negati#e impact on her !ody' She !egan to see that &hen one puts nutritional patterns as a priority and plans ahead0 proper food choices could !e ?ust as 2fast3 as a greasy !urger' nother

pattern that &as noticed as the season continued &as that the girls started to choose 2healthy3 menu choices and tal/ a!out their food choices as a team' $any times there &ere group discussions a!out certain menu items and &hether those &ere healthy choices'

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan 1, Coaches $odeling The coaching staff prioriti=ed modeling and !elie#ing the information that &as gi#en out to the players' This &as accomplished !y carefully controlling &hat &as eaten in front and around the team' Research sho&s that it is easier to follo& a leader &ho spea/s and acts the same thing rather than one that spea/s and acts differently' <or this reason the coaching staff too/ pride in the foods they ate &hile around the team' An addition0 they too/ pride in sho&ing the ideas of moderation' $ultiple times throughout the season the coaching staff 2treated3 the team to desert or an appeti=er during appropriate meals' The goal of the 2treats3 &as to model the philosophy of moderation' The girls responded &ell to this0 and commented that their pre#ious coaches &ould ne#er ha#e allo&ed these 2treats3 to ta/e place' The coaching staff responded !y simply stating that these 2treats3 are not an e#eryday occurrence' The philosophy &as that it is !etter to indulge e#ery no& and then0 than ha#e unhealthy !inge patterns' The goal &as to !e good role models &hen it came to healthy nutritional patterns' Pre and Post Hame $eals An addition0 to the pre;game meal0 the coaching staff placed a huge emphasis on the post;game reco#ery' s tal/ed a!out in the educational phase0 the most

important time to reco#er is 9,;)+ minutes follo&ing competition' Therefore0 follo&ing all games chocolate mil/ and trail mi* &as pro#ided as part of the cool do&n' :nce again0 this &as not al&ays con#enient0 !ut it &as a priority and players !egan to understand the importance as the season progressed' At &as during this time in &hich the staff introduced the 2roles3 philosophy' While pouring and handing out the snac/s0 no one &as 2forced3 to parta/e0 !ut it &as mentioned multiple times a!out the roles of each indi#idual' An order for the team to get

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan 11 !etter0 each mem!er of the team must hold themsel#es accounta!le in preparing themsel#es and ma/ing the team !etter' t first many players did not &ant to

participate0 !ut as the influence from &ithin the team increased so too do the num!er of participants' There &ere a fe& players that &ere not a!le to drin/ the mil/ or eat the trail mi* due to allergies0 !ut &ith time they !egan to !ring their o&n post game snac/ in order to fulfill their role in ta/ing care of their !ody' Ho&e#er0 there remained one young lady &ho did not participate

Evaluation Phase: The last phase is a!out e#aluation' At is important to see &here the staff &as successful and &ere they needed to continue to &or/' The coaching staff conducted post season inter#ie&s &here they as/ed a #ariety of >uestions concerning the year' Ancluded in these >uestions &ere topics a!out the nutritional programs the coaching staff added' An general the girls admitted to 2playing nutritious3 meaning that they &ere nutritious around the &hole team and coaching staff0 !ut did stray &hen a&ay from the supporti#e staff' This &as not surprising for it ta/es a long time to change actions and opinions' Ho&e#er0 they did also say that they en?oyed all of the efforts to help &ith nutrition' They also en?oyed the chocolate mil/0 trail mi*0 Hatorade and &ater that &as a#aila!le &hile tra#eling and after games' The inter#ie&s not only helped the staff to determine &hat &as successful !ut also helped them recei#e feed!ac/ on ho& to approach nutrition in the future' The coaching staff is still deli!erating on ho& to use this information in the future0 !ut they ha#e decided to continue educating the team as &ell as supporting positi#e nutritional ha!its' Conclusion

Running Head: The Psychological Components of Changing a Womens Soccer Team Nutritional Plan 1% Sports psychology is a gro&ing part of athletics at all le#els' $any !elie#e that sports are G,- mental and %,- physical0 !ut through this e*perience A !elie#e that the mental aspect is #ery important to the physical' Nutrition helps the physical !ut is #ery mental especially for female athletes' Andirectly A ha#e learned a lot a!out the importance of communication and ho& important support is to a reco#ering athlete' An addition0 &hen spea/ing &ith females a!out nutrition and !ody image it is #ery important ho& one communicates desired goals and strategies for females' Nutrition is closely lin/ed to !ody image and emotions &hich is a #ery delicate su!?ect' 5irectly A learned ho& important education and modeling seemed to !e &hen integrating change in nutritional !eha#ior patterns' 8asic coaching psychological s/ills learned in this class can !e applied to a &ide #ariety of topics in sports0 and are therefore #ery helpful to coaches in all aspects of training' References 8ar;:r0 :'0 Clar/son0 P'0 Kanter0 $'0 Coyle0 @'0 Kraemer0 W'0 5a#is0 $'0 Bam!0 5'0 @/!lom0 8'0 $aughan0 R'0 Hisolfi0 C'0 $urray0 R'0 Hagerman0 <' .1((91' Roundta!le: Physiology and Nutrition for Competiti#e Sport' Sports Science @*change0 Hatorade Sports Science Anstitute' Iol )0 Num!er 9' Horn0 T' .%,,G1 d#ances in Sport Psychology 9 rd @dition' Human Kinetics' Champaign0 AB' Kir/endall0 Ph'50 5' .%,,)1' Creatine0 Carbs, and Fluids: How important in soccer nutrition?, Sports Science @*change ()0 Hatorade Sports Science Anstitute' Iol 1E' "hler0 J' .%,,+1' Ho& to Change 8eha#ior Patterns' North ndo#er0 $ '

7eager0 K'0 gostini0 R'0 Natti#0 '0 and 5rin/&ater0 8' .1((9 ). The Female Athlete Triad: Disordered Eating, Amenorrhea, steoporosis ' $edicine and Science in Sports and @*ercise' Iol %+0 Assue E0 pg EE+;EEE'