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Performing Your Best At Tournaments

By Evan O'neill, 01/13/25, 12:15PM EST

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With club tournaments starting up, let's take a minute to talk about how to perform your best on tournament days. We want you to be properly fueled and competing at a high level regardless of how long the tournament goes!  Read More


Disclaimer: Blog posts represent the opinions of their author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of MVSA VBC the organization.


It can be difficult to perform your best at tournaments — they often start early in the morning and can go all day (hopefully!). It’s important to have a plan so you can perform at the highest level possible regardless of what happens. Poor sleep, nutrition, and hydration can all lead to decreases in energy and performance, and can be the difference between a gold medal and going home early.

To start, let’s give some background on why sleep, nutrition, and hydration are so important.

Sleep

Sleep is the number one tool we have for recovery and general function. When we sleep, our body is able to shut off many processes and focus on a few like digestion, muscle and energy building, and hormone regulation. Sleep also improves brain function, helping athletes stay focused and make better decisions on the court. As athletes, we love to use foam rollers and massage guns and other gadgets to help with recovery, but the single most important tool to feeling fresh and ready to compete is sleep. Athletes need to try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Getting 8 only the night before the tournament won’t help a ton, unfortunately; you need to make it a habit to get the full effects. If you struggle with getting to sleep, here are some things you can try.

Make a nighttime routine

Our bodies love routine and will respond to the routine we give them. Try to have a set time at night that you begin your routine. Your routine can be whatever works for you. Stretching and a warm shower or bath are great ways to relax and prepare for sleep. Just pick a few things and see how it goes!

Get rid of screens

This is one that most of us struggle with (including myself!). Blue light has been shown to mess with circadian rhythms and melatonin secretion. The more screen lights we have in front of us, the more our body thinks it’s still day time. Try giving yourself a set amount of time to scroll away, and then plug your phone in somewhere you can’t reach it from bed and leave it there. Bonus: it makes you get out of bed to turn your alarm off in the morning too.

Make your bedroom your bed room

Try to take things out of your room that can hurt sleep like TVs. Having your room only, or mainly for sleep, can trigger your body to actually go to sleep. If you do school work, watch TV, and exercise in your room, it can interfere with your body’s connection with sleeping and your room, and make it more difficult to fall asleep when you’re there.

Nutrition

Proper nutrition is the second part of the equation. Our bodies need fuel to perform, and food is that fuel. The food we put into our body is broken down and turned into energy that we use to play. Have you ever felt like you “hit a wall” while exercising/playing? That’s your body running out of energy. Here is some info on what we need to eat to be at our best.

Carbohydrates

If you’re an athlete, you need carbs. Carbs are the main source of energy we can put into our body. They break down quickly, and are stored in our muscles so they can work well. Some great examples of carbs are: rice, oats, bread, quinoa, pasta, fruits (especially bananas, which contain potassium — an electrolyte!), and sweet potatoes. While they shouldn’t be the main source of carbs, fast acting carbs like white bread and sugar can be good sources of energy if you’re short on time before practice or a game.

Protein

Protein is what builds our muscles. After a long practice or workout, our muscles are worn out. If we eat protein, we are feeding our muscles, which we need to be strong in order to jump higher, hit harder, and get hurt less! Some great examples of protein are: chicken, fish, turkey, beef, nuts, Greek yogurt, and beans.

Fats

Fats are often looked at as being bad, but fat is essential to our bodies. Fats help with brain health, energy, inflammation, and nutrient absorption. We need them to be able to think clearly and quickly on the court, and to recover after playing. Some great, healthy examples of fats include: nuts/seeds, avocado, plant oils, and fish (especially salmon).

Hydration

Hydration is the last part of our performance equation. We need to be hydrated in order to function and perform. Water is the number one priority when staying hydrated. Water is essential for regulating body temperature, as well as blood and nutrient transport. We want to try to drink about 2 liters of water a day. Carry a water bottle with you throughout the day to make sure you are getting enough water.

We also need electrolytes. Electrolytes help us retain fluid and are essential to help our brain send signals to our muscles to work properly. Especially when we are exercising hard, drinking 4-6 ounces of a sports drink during breaks will help to keep us hydrated and energized. As an added bonus, most sports drinks also contain carbs, which help with energy as well. I personally love the Nuun brand of electrolytes, but Liquid IV and LMNT are also great options. Gatorade and Powerade are fine, too, but often contain more sugar and less electrolytes than we’d like.

Sample Tournament Nutrition Guide

Here is a sample plan for eating on a tournament day. This is just an example to give you an idea of what are good options for each meal/snack. We’ve put together a few ideas for each, but there are many other options to eat healthy and feel great, so the most important thing is to find what works best for you!

Timing of meals can also be very important. The general guideline is to have a full meal roughly 3-4 hours before playing so your body can digest and convert the food to energy. The closer you are to game time, the more you should focus on faster-acting carbs like white bread and sugar, and electrolytes to be properly hydrated.

Breakfast (After a good night’s sleep!)

  • Oatmeal with fruit and peanut butter
  • Greek yogurt with fruit and granola
  • Eggs with turkey bacon and toast
  • Fruit smoothie with peanut butter

Lunch (For a longer break during the tournament)

  • Turkey sandwich with fruit and pretzels
  • Chicken with rice and vegetables
  • Salad with chicken or fish
  • Poke bowl or other rice bowl

Dinner (After the tournament)

  • Pasta with meat and vegetables
  • Salmon with rice or potatoes and vegetables
  • Rice bowl

Snacks (great for breaks between matches, or even during matches for some extra energy)

  • Fruit (bananas and oranges are great)
  • The Gogo Squeez fruit pouches are very popular on college and professional team benches!
  • Pretzels or crackers
  • Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  • Trail mix
  • Granola bars
  • Sports drinks

A few other tips…

Some athletes like to use caffeine to help wake them up and play. Caffeine can be a useful tool to assist with energy, but you need to be careful. If you are not a caffeine drinker, a big tournament is not the time to experiment. Too much caffeine or any caffeine for people who are sensitive can have extremely adverse effects. It can make you feel jittery/anxious, and can lead to a big crash halfway through a tournament. Avoid energy drinks and pre-workout mixes/drinks. These include other ingredients that can be especially harmful to young athlete heart health. Our recommendation is to avoid caffeine unless it is already part of your daily routine.

Some foods to avoid, especially the night before and day of a tournament, include:

  • Foods/drinks with very high sugar content - Sugar can be a useful simple carb to help with quick energy, but too much can have the opposite effect and make us sluggish and tired
  • Heavy or greasy foods - These can make us feel sluggish, as they tend to be high in saturated and trans fat and oils
  • Foods you don’t normally eat - You never know how you will react to a new food, so try to stick to things you’ve had before that make you feel good!

You’d be surprised how much of a difference a proper amount of sleep, eating well, and hydrating can make on your performance. Try some of these tips out and see the difference for yourself! Go MVSA!


Coach Evan O’Neill is the head coach for MVSA 17 Blaze, as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) under the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you have any questions for Coach Evan or would like to set up strength and conditioning sessions for your athlete, you can contact him at evan.oneill3@gmail.com.