By Christopher R. Mohr, PhD, RD

Lacrosse is a unique sport, a mix of short bursts of speed, power, and surely mental focus. Of course we know training is crucial to success, but the missing piece to the performance puzzle is very often nutrition. Chugging an energy drink in the locker room before your match will not help performance. Waking up with a 20 oz bottle of soda is like pouring 17 tsps. of sugar on a bowl of cereal and eating it. Again, not so effective.

Make quality choices:

1) Focus on the quality of the carbohydrates. Carbohydrates should absolutely be the cornerstone of a lacrosse player's diet. The key, however, is to focus heavily on quality — "think fiber, not carbs!" There is a huge difference between white bread and whole grain, high-fiber bread; a sugar-coated cereal and oatmeal; french fries and sweet potatoes. For one thing, definitely eat breakfast, but try a whole-grain based cereal with some fresh fruit for the nutrients and fiber. Sandwiches should be made with whole grain bread, rather than their white counterpart. Snacks can be whole grain crackers with peanut butter, fruit or veggie sticks with peanut butter, etc. The list can go on.

The focus of carbohydrates should always be on foods that provide a few grams of fiber per serving (exceptions are milk and yogurt, which are very healthy and carbohydrate-based, but provide little, if any fiber).

Fruits and vegetables are also a crucial element for a high performance athlete. Keep in mind that dried fruit counts towards the total fruit intake for the day, as does 100% juice (of course this shouldn't be the mainstay, though, as whole fruit provides more fiber), along with fruit puree.

2) Address Protein Needs of Lacrosse Players. In the world of athletics, no other macronutrient has received the same level of attention as protein. Everywhere you look, everything you see, tells us we need more and more protein, whether you're trying to lose weight or gain muscle. But how about for adolescent athletes — do they have higher protein requirements like other fitness enthusiasts? As you know, they too are trying to improve performance, put some muscles on those bodies, and of course just improve overall health (at least we hope they are!).