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Q
&
A
WI TH
JENN I E ZAB I NSK Y
ASSISTANT ATHLET ICS DIRECTOR, SPORTS NUTRI T ION
Q: How do address the needs of the men’s
basketball team, both individually and as a
full team?
Nutritional needs as a team are addressed in team
talks and providing the team with their own fueling
station in their locker room for quick, convenient
snacks, as well as pre and post fuel around training.
Individual needs are addressed through one on one
consultations where we can discuss their specific
hydration, nutrient, and recovery needs and adapt
this to their unique schedules.
Q: How important is it for a team to have
access to a training table out of season?
Out of season is a crucial time to make gains,
especially from a body composition stand point.
Providing training table out of season allow for
athletes to maximize their potential for managing
their body composition goals. Training Table
provides a convenient “one stop shop” for our
athletes to fuel up with everything their bodies
need to replenish, rebuild, and refuel.
Q: How important is it for players to have
access to training table in-season?
Training Table plays a slightly different role in season.
With such a demanding in season schedule,
basketball players are notorious for losing weight
and lean body mass posing the threat of decreased
performance. Their caloric demands are high and
their schedules are busy. Training Table provides
athletes an all you can eat opportunity to fuel up on
high performance food options. To decrease the
chance for injury and illness, Training Table focuses
on foods that are anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense,
hydrating, and balanced.
Q: How has your program grown over the
past few years?
In just 5 short years, the Sports Nutrition Program
has increased its staff from 2 to 5 sports dietitians,
has built and managed five new fueling stations,
and has incorporated new hands on nutrition
experiences such as cooking demos, Dine with a
Dietitian, and grocery store tours to name a few.
We are fueling athletes more than ever, which
provides a great avenue for educating at the same
time. We are looking forward to our largest project
yet- an all sports Training Table dining facility
located adjacent to Cassel Colliseum in 2018.
Q: What are your specific goals with the
men’s basketball team?
Our sport specific goals with this team are
optimizing hydration, reaching body composition
goals, properly recovering from workouts and
competition, eating more frequently (and focusing
on the importance of timing), and increasing their
food option repertoire (I.e. Eating more variety!)
Q: What are the keys to maintaining the
nutritional needs of the men’s basketball
team, especially in regards to the frequent
travel?
Fueling frequently is on the top of our list. We
ideally would like them consuming calories every
2-3 hours to meet their caloric demands, recovery
quickly for their next training session, and “keep
their fuel tank full.” Bookending workouts and
games is a must. This includes a pre-fuel high
carbohydrate snack to top off energy stores before
and recovering immediately afterwards with foods
that include protein, carbohydrate, and fluids.
Having convenient snacks on travel trips also helps
to fill the gaps in between meals. We emphasize
dried fruit, trail mix, beef jerky, pretzels, granola
bars, PBJs, etc.
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