One of the most important factors affecting the performance of athletes is healthy and proper nutrition. As this awareness increases in football clubs in our country, the number of dietitians working in the clubs is also increasing. As dietitians working in sports clubs, we do our best in this regard and ensure that the dietitian culture in the clubs increases by showing our positive contributions to the clubs.
Dietitians in sports clubs have many duties and responsibilities. In the sports club, the dietitian must work in a multidisciplinary manner with the members of the health team, technical team and other employees.
The dietitian must work full-time and actively within the club, and must be with the team during training, matches and camp periods. It is not appropriate for the dietician to work periodically (once a month, once a week) in order to be accepted by the team and to fulfill his responsibilities. The team dietitian should be present in every area where the team exists and continue its work. The dietitian has a great responsibility in this regard.
Contrary to popular belief, the duty of the club dietician is not only to make anthropometric measurements for athletes and prepare menus. Apart from these, it has many other duties. He is involved in many different practices, including the dietitian A team and infrastructures. There is a different working system in the infrastructure of the club and the A team.
The priority of the club dietician is to contribute maximum to the team success and athlete performance with the work he does. His ability to influence the team atmosphere and performance with his practices is achieved as a result of long studies, effort and effort.
In A teams, it is important to be with the team at all times and to be in contact with the athletes. The club dietician should take anthropometric measurements of the athletes periodically starting from the beginning of the season. Anthropometric measurements should be compared with the data in the literature and based on this, the nutrition strategy for the athlete should be determined. Nutrition programs of athletes whose anthropometric data are not within appropriate limits should be planned and monitored.
Another duty of the club dietitian is to determine the type and intensity of training performed by the athletes throughout the season. and planning ergogenic supports depending on its duration. Athletes should be given ergogenic support before, during and after training and their use should be monitored. Athletes should be informed about why the support is given, what it will bring to them and its benefits.
At the beginning of the season, the team goes to a preparatory camp to prepare for the new season. These camps generally take place abroad, depending on the status and financial power of the club. The duration of the preparation camp varies from club to club, but can be between 1 week and 1 month. In the camps, preparation trainings for the new season, friendly matches, tests and measurements carried out by the medical team and other units are carried out. At the beginning of the season, the atmosphere of the team is different as there will be player changes in the team compared to the previous season. The club dietician should especially increase his communication with new players and inform the players about his practices. You can visit one or more countries during the camp. Before going to the preparation camp, one should contact the hotel or hotels where they will go to the camp and send them the camp menus. The dietitian should have knowledge of the food culture and dishes of the country to be visited by doing research. The camp menu should be arranged by contacting the hotel and discussing what dishes they can cook, whether the dishes on the menu can be prepared or not. If the necessary menu cannot be prepared by the kitchen of the hotel where the camp will be held, the team cook must be brought to the hotel and a program must be created to complete the menu. If the camp will take place in different countries and in different hotels, it should also ensure communication with all hotels and ensure that there are no problems with the camp menu.
One of the most important issues affecting athlete performance is hydration. The club dietician should monitor the hydration of athletes, especially on match days. In cases where there is not enough fluid intake and fluid loss, athletes experience loss of performance and cramp problems. Fluid monitoring and support provided by the club dietitian can prevent the athlete from losing performance and cramping problems. On the morning of match days, a urine sample is taken from the athletes on an empty stomach and the fluid level is checked with a refractometer. should be done. Depending on the amount of fluid loss, athletes should be given electrolyte fluid and the athlete's fluid intake should be increased until the match starts, monitored and fluid status should be brought to normal levels. During the match, electrolyte fluids should be given to the athletes, and in case of any cramping, the athlete should be given a fast-absorbing electrolyte supplement.
When planning the menus to be included in the facility throughout the season, the club dietitian should plan appropriate menus before and after the match. When going away, menus should be sent to hotels and followed up.
In case of athlete injuries, they should work as a multidisciplinary team with other members of the medical team. A special nutrition program should be created for injuries, given the necessary supplements and followed up. The club dietician must submit reports to the relevant units for all his/her work, especially the head of the health team and the technical team.
The working system is different in infrastructure groups. Although many protocols are the same, there are different applications in the infrastructure of the sports club. There are athletes in different age groups in the infrastructure, from 9 to 19 years old.
Detailed anthropometric measurements are made periodically for older age groups. In lower age groups, growth and development are monitored. Athletes whose growth and development percentiles or anthropometric measurements are not appropriate should be identified, nutrition programs should be created and followed up.
The club dietician should plan, provide and monitor ergogenic support to athletes in the upper age groups during training and matches during the season. Likewise, hydration should be monitored. He/she should provide support by taking a urine sample on the morning of match days and checking the fluid status with a refractometer.
The club dietitian should plan appropriate meal menus for athletes according to age groups. When going to away or out-of-town tournaments, menus should be sent to hotels. During the meal, he/she should stand at the buffet and help the athletes prepare trays containing healthy foods and give information.
The club dietitian should make healthy nutrition presentations to all age groups at regular intervals. is property. It is important to prepare understandable presentations suitable for age groups and inform the athletes. Athletes should be ensured to understand the importance of nutrition, which will affect their performance throughout their sports life. Likewise, presentations should be made to athletes' parents at regular intervals and they should be informed about how athletes should eat. Parents' attitudes on this issue have a great impact on the nutritional habits of athletes. The athletes we teach proper nutrition in the infrastructure will benefit greatly throughout their careers.
As a result, the dietitian working in the sports club has many duties in different categories. Working with athletes is a different field, it can be very tiring and stressful, but it can also be a very happy time. Having a dietitian contribute to every match won, every cup and every goal scored is a happy and intensely satisfying moment. This field, which requires intense work and dedication, will be good if one is happy and satisfied with the work, but if one cannot achieve this happiness, it will be a very difficult field. Dietitians who want to work in this field must develop themselves a lot, follow innovations and be equipped.
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