Understanding how your body works — and how to fuel it — so you can perform, recover, and glorify God with every game.
Fueling bodies God designed
for excellence
God designed your body with extraordinary complexity. Every time you run, jump, throw, or cheer, dozens of systems activate simultaneously — each one using specific resources that need to be restored.
Muscles convert carbohydrates and fats into movement using oxygen. The harder you push, the more they rely on glycogen — fast-burning carbohydrate fuel stored in your muscles and liver.
Your heart pumps oxygen-rich blood to working muscles while removing waste products. God designed this system to perform best when you're well-fueled and properly hydrated.
Exercise creates tiny micro-tears in muscle fibers — that's actually how you grow stronger. Protein provides the amino acids your body needs to repair and rebuild those fibers after every workout.
Your body sweats to stay cool during exercise. Sweat is mostly water, but it also carries key minerals called electrolytes — sodium, potassium, and magnesium — that muscles and nerves need to function properly.
Your brain reads plays, makes split-second decisions, and stays composed under pressure. It runs almost entirely on glucose from carbohydrates. Underfueling clouds thinking, slows reactions, and makes the game harder than it needs to be.
Young athletes are actively building bone density — a critical window that won't return. Calcium and Vitamin D are essential. Underfueling raises the risk of stress fractures, especially in high-impact and endurance sports.
Every macronutrient your body needs was placed on this earth by God. Genesis 1:29 reminds us that He provided seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees for our nourishment. Here are the three fuel sources your body is designed to use.
Think of glycogen (stored carbs) as your gas tank. God designed your body to run on this fuel — whole grains, fruits, and vegetables all provide it. When your tank is full, you play your best.
Protein rebuilds muscle tissue after training, supports your immune system, and helps your body feel satisfied between meals. God placed protein in both plants and animals for a reason.
Fats support brain function, reduce inflammation after hard workouts, protect organs, and help absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K. Many of the healthiest fats come from foods found in Scripture.
Every meal is an opportunity to fuel your body for what comes next. Here's how to build a plate that powers performance — no counting, no measuring, just smart choices.
Dehydration is one of the most common — and most preventable — performance killers. Even mild fluid loss changes how your body and brain perform.
Start every day with 16 oz of water. Your body fasted overnight — rehydrate before anything else.
Drink 17–20 oz of water or a sports drink. Arrive at practice or a game already hydrated.
Sip 6–8 oz every 15–20 min. Add a sports drink with sodium for sessions over 1 hour.
Drink 16–24 oz per pound of body weight lost during practice. Include sodium to help retain fluids.
The same foods eaten at the right time perform better than the wrong foods at any time. Here's how to structure your fueling around practice and game days.
Every practice and game breaks your body down a little. Recovery is how you come back stronger. Miss this window consistently and you'll plateau — or get hurt.
Replenish your glycogen (muscle fuel) with carbohydrates. Aim for at least 50g of carbs within 30 minutes of finishing. Fruit, chocolate milk, and whole grains all work great.
Provide protein for muscle fiber repair. A recovery snack with 15–20g of protein is ideal. Chocolate milk, Greek yogurt, eggs, and chicken are all excellent choices that do the job.
Replace fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat. Drink at least 20 oz of water or an electrolyte drink. Include some sodium from food to help your body hold onto the fluids.
Aim for 8–10 hours per night. Sleep is when most muscle repair happens — growth hormone peaks during deep sleep cycles. Poor sleep raises injury risk, slows reaction time, and undermines every nutrition habit you build. No supplement replaces consistent, quality sleep.
God designed each of you differently — and so does each sport. Every event makes unique demands on the body. Here's what SCCS Lions athletes should know about fueling their specific game.
Football combines explosive short bursts with the need to sustain power across a 2–4 hour game. Your body burns glycogen rapidly during sprints and collisions. Late summer and fall camp heat means heavy sweat losses.
Key focus: Eat frequently throughout the day — never skip meals or save everything for dinner. Prioritize recovery within 30–60 min of practice. Salt your food to replace sweat sodium and stay on the field.
Soccer players run 5–7 miles per game, often for 90 continuous minutes. Carbohydrate stores are critical — without enough fuel, speed and focus drop dramatically in the second half.
Key focus: Prioritize carbohydrate-rich foods around practice and games. Eat a balanced pre-match meal 3–4 hours before kickoff. Recovery nutrition after games helps you bounce back for back-to-back weekend matches.
Distance runners depend on sustained energy over 3–5+ miles. The body uses both carbohydrate and fat for fuel. Bone health is especially important — stress fractures are a real risk when athletes undereat.
Key focus: Eat enough — distance runners often undereat without realizing it. Prioritize carbohydrates, calcium, and Vitamin D. Stay hydrated even on cool weather run days.
Cheerleading combines gymnastics, dance, stunting, and hours of performance. Stunters need muscle strength; flyers need agility and enough body fuel for safe landings and tosses.
Key focus: Eat 3 full meals plus snacks consistently. Restricting food to look a certain way weakens performance and raises injury risk. Healthy body composition changes happen safely over time with consistent fueling.
Basketball players make up to 1,000 direction changes per game. Carbohydrates power every quick burst. Dehydration slows sprinting, lowers shooting percentage, and dulls reaction time noticeably.
Key focus: Spread meals and snacks throughout the day. Eat a solid pre-game meal 3–4 hours before tipoff. Carry a water bottle everywhere during the long October–March season.
Wrestling demands strength, endurance, and mental sharpness all in a single match. Underfueling and dehydration make you slower, weaker, and more prone to illness and injury throughout the season.
Key focus: Build your fueling around your natural body composition — not an extreme weight target. Drastic cutting weakens performance and harms long-term health. Stay consistently fueled all season long.
Golfers walk 5+ miles per round, often in heat, over 4–5 hours. Brain performance is everything — concentration, course management, and composure under pressure all require consistent fueling and hydration.
Key focus: Eat a complete breakfast on competition days. Bring snacks to the course — you can't stop mid-round. Stay hydrated especially in warm weather. Low blood sugar means lost focus and poor decision-making.
Baseball games last 2–3+ hours in warm spring and summer conditions. Explosive bursts alternate with long waiting periods — managing fuel and hydration across the full game day matters more than most athletes realize.
Key focus: Hydration is critical in warm weather. Eat a balanced meal before games. Pack healthy dugout snacks. Pitchers especially need protein and carbohydrates for arm strength and recovery between outings.
Track & Field spans sprinters (10–60 sec explosive events), distance runners (sustained endurance), and throwers (strength and coordination). Everyone benefits from consistent daily fueling. Skipping breakfast and backloading all food to the end of the day is one of the most common — and damaging — mistakes.
Key focus: After every practice: 50g carbs + 15g protein + 20 oz fluids within 30 minutes. Distance runners: prioritize calcium and Vitamin D for bone health. Never skip breakfast.
A typical energy drink has 80–300mg of caffeine — the same as 3–8 cups of coffee. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero to minimal caffeine for children and teens.
Many contain 25–50g of added sugar per can — equivalent to a candy bar. "Sugar-free" versions replace it with artificial sweeteners that don't provide real fuel for performance.
Taurine, B vitamins, guarana, and herbal stimulants — often combined with caffeine in amounts that have never been tested for safety in adolescents.
Keep your fuel tank topped up between meals. The right snacks at the right time can be the difference between an average practice and a great one.
Most student-athletes do NOT need supplements — real food is almost always better. Some supplements contain banned substances or untested ingredients. Before taking anything — protein powders, pre-workouts, energy drinks, or vitamins — talk to a parent, coach, or healthcare provider first.
God calls us to care for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. That means fueling well, resting well, and treating yourself with grace. Restricting food to achieve a certain appearance does not honor that calling — it hurts it. If you or a teammate is struggling with food, eating, or body image, please reach out to a trusted adult, counselor, coach, or healthcare provider. You deserve to feel strong, energized, and well-fueled.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Honor God with every practice, every game, every meal.