Snacks for Soccer. Please help.

[Anonymous]

OP doesn't say what age, but for younger kids playing rec I was honestly disgusted by the parents who brought cookies and cupcakes for after the games where most of them barely exerted themselves.

Fruit and water/juice seems fine to me. A soccer coach also recommended chocolate milk - the kids will drink it and it helps recovery better than water.

For older kids, playing travel, they should bring their own snacks for a given game. If it's a tournament, then parents should sort out, but things like granola bars, gatorade/water, fruit are all good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gatorade is loaded with sugar: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/09/01/492257166/organic-gatorade-its-still-loaded-with-sugar-folks

I recommend you research sports nutrition at different ages, especially for athletes on hot days.

[Anonymous]

Watermelon slices were a huge hit on my son's team. A little different from oranges/grapes and when it's hot, it was nice to have something with some much liquid.

Don't feel obligated to bring four different options, and try to just ignore the tiger moms who bring the pinterest worthy snacks.

[Anonymous]

I think most teams stop snacks for the kids after 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most teams stop snacks for the kids after 2nd grade.

I wish this was true, but unfortunately it is not. I was excoriated by another parent recently for making the galling suggestion that we cut out snack for a 4th & 5th grade team. It's madness!

[Anonymous]

Fruit and water.

Skip the whole idea of rewarding exercise with junk. IF they ran enough to need a snack make it count.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fruit and water.

Skip the whole idea of rewarding exercise with junk. IF they ran enough to need a snack make it count.

who're you responding to? i don't think anyone on this thread advocated that. get off your high horses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it dumb? They just ran hard for you for 60 minutes, presumably something you are proud of and want them to enjoy and continue doing, maybe even advance if they're up for it. You want to begrudge them a juice box afterwards?

Because they didn't run for 60 minutes. They were at the field for 60 minutes just as you were, does that mean that you need a snack too? Most of the snack craziness is at U-little Rec. The games are not long, nor are they physically demanding. Playing time is generally divided and kids get enough rest in between their shifts. They do not need a snack after this. Feed them a quality dinner the night before and a sensible breakfast and they will be fine.

If the kids "look forward to the snack" then they are being bribed to play and all of you are doing it for the wrong reason. If they had fun they should want to keep playing not thinking about the snack at the end.

It is a stupid waste of time that parents agonize over and there is no reason for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most teams stop snacks for the kids after 2nd grade.

I wish this was true, but unfortunately it is not. I was excoriated by another parent recently for making the galling suggestion that we cut out snack for a 4th & 5th grade team. It's madness!

My teen keeps an appropriate halftime snack in the backpack, along with gatorade and water, and has a chocolate milk after. The body of an athlete is a machine and must be fueled as such, at any age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am already intimidated by the caliber of snacks parents bring to soccer. Please give me ideas on what a good snack is for a first time volunteer. What do your kids like? And most importantly, what's easy to transport?

OP - I need to know what the high-caliber snacks are that the other moms are brining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The body of an athlete is a machine and must be fueled as such, at any age.

A pack of 5 years old running on a half sized field after a soccer a ball are not "machines"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The body of an athlete is a machine and must be fueled as such, at any age.

A pack of 5 years old running on a half sized field after a soccer a ball are not "machines"

I was clearly referring to my TEEN in my post.

Regardless, there is no harm teaching kids early on how to fuel and hydrate properly for fitness, and littles running around in heat and sun absolutely need to be hydrated properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My teen keeps an appropriate halftime snack in the backpack, along with gatorade and water, and has a chocolate milk after. The body of an athlete is a machine and must be fueled as such, at any age.

Good for your "athlete" but do 10 and 11 y/o's need a bag of Doritos and Oreo's and a 20 oz gatorade after fluttering around a soccer field for less than an hour? I agree with the previous poster that snack should not be a reward for participating in youth sports. If your kid is dehydrated, give them water. If they are hungry, go eat lunch. The whole snack/treat thing needs to stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The body of an athlete is a machine and must be fueled as such, at any age.

A pack of 5 years old running on a half sized field after a soccer a ball are not "machines"

I was clearly referring to my TEEN in my post.

Regardless, there is no harm teaching kids early on how to fuel and hydrate properly for fitness, and littles running around in heat and sun absolutely need to be hydrated properly[i].

Yup. Which is why ever responsible PARENT (not team mom, not coordinated team volunteer) should bring water bottles for their kids - both the one playing soccer and the siblings running around on the other field or the playground.
But hydration in the sun has absolutely no relationship to the junk-food-signup-genius-snack-craziness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it dumb? They just ran hard for you for 60 minutes, presumably something you are proud of and want them to enjoy and continue doing, maybe even advance if they're up for it. You want to begrudge them a juice box afterwards?

Because they didn't run for 60 minutes. They were at the field for 60 minutes just as you were, does that mean that you need a snack too? Most of the snack craziness is at U-little Rec. The games are not long, nor are they physically demanding. Playing time is generally divided and kids get enough rest in between their shifts. They do not need a snack after this. Feed them a quality dinner the night before and a sensible breakfast and they will be fine.

If the kids "look forward to the snack" then they are being bribed to play and all of you are doing it for the wrong reason. If they had fun they should want to keep playing not thinking about the snack at the end.

It is a stupid waste of time that parents agonize over and there is no reason for it.

OMG