Meet the two women in charge of Gamecock basketball nutrition
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
During practice, that’s Frank Martin’s time to work. He and the rest of his staff puts the players through a tough practice in preparation for whatever game and opponent are next.
But when the final whistle gets blown to signal the end of practice, that’s Sarah Weber and Alexa Appelman’s time to shine.
The two, who are the men’s basketball team’s first full-time dietitians and nutritionists, are in charge of making sure players have snacks and drinks aimed at recovery after practice and around games as well.
“When I first came in, they weren’t eating anything. They were just drinking a little bit of Gatorade. It wasn’t really a thing yet because they just didn’t know,” Weber said. “It’s a short window between the two halves and it’s hard to put a lot in your stomach if you’re going out to exert yourself that hard. It’s a tentative balance to see what you can get them to eat, what’s going to be easy to digest to get into their body.”
The two were brought on before the season started as the program’s first real full-time nutritionists and dietitians in charge of all of the food players eat in the facility and before, during and after games.
It’s an ever-changing job for those two, who have to tweak and fiddle with menu items to keep guys engaged in what they’re eating so they don’t go off and fall into the traditional college diet of fast food and 25-cent ramen packets nuked in a dorm room microwave.
“I feel like the hardest challenge is making sure the guys eat enough. You’re on the road for two days, you come back and practice and then you find yourself on the road again in a couple days,” Appelman said. “The hardest thing is making sure they don’t get bored of the same things. It’s providing that variety and providing high-quality meals. They’re already so tired and burnt out from practice and lifts and study hall that we want to make nutrition fun and exciting. It’s keeping them engaged and interesting.”
Some of the food is standard: pasta bar for home games, two different protein options ranging from salmon to the team-favorite barbecue chicken plus favorites like green beans broccoli, Hawaiian rolls and fruit salad.
Being college athletes, players can burn close to 700 to 900 calories an hour when they’re practicing or playing so Weber and Appelman want their players eating as frequently as possible.
They say players should eat almost every two hours, putting down snacks that would be full meals to most people; Weber said a typical snack might be a sandwich, juice, fruit snacks and a banana.
Snacks are also provided for film sessions as well.
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“We’re all in this controlled environment, why not control what food goes in there?” Appelman said. “When we can control what’s in film snacks, that’s more we’re with them.”
They provide in-game food as well—Gatorade chews usually—as well as smoothies and a full chef at the on-campus dining hall as well.
Weber also started a breakfast club that meets three times a week and gives players a well-balanced meal to start their days.
“A lot of it was about showing up consistently and talking with them. Being there. Then they eventually warm up and trust you. It’s a different process,” Weber said. “It takes asking them questions, talking about things from what was your first tattoo all the way up to what their family is doing the other, what they had for a meal…It did take some time.”
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They work closely with strength and conditioning coach Scott Greenwalt and athletic trainer Mark Rodger to plan meals and go over body composition testing.
Moving forward now, Weber said they’d like to continue to progress and do more as they figure out the best way to get players the food they want at the right time.
They have a kitchen in the team’s new practice locker room and both nutritionists are giddy about the possibilities they have to try out new foods there.
One of the other things they want to do is prepare the players for life after college, which will hopefully include cooking classes in the future along with helping players create a healthy shopping list at grocery stores.
Weber and Appelman, who are finishing up their first season working with Martin and the basketball program, have seen nothing put positive impacts this year and players have really latched on to what the nutritionist staff does.
“I’d say there’s not one thing that’s the most rewarding part. It’s progress in my mind and it is rewarding,” Weber said. “I like to see how that can be translated them making more consistent and all together healthier choices for themselves and it translate to their performance. I think the most rewarding part is when they make that recognition that it does make a difference.”