Youth Wrestling

[CorpKiller]

What’s a good pre-match drink, meal for my boy? He’s 9 yrs, wrestles @ 100-105 class 10-Under. 2nd year.

 

[StatePlan1425]

First off, your son is participating in the oldest and greatest sport. Well done dad! At 9 years old, I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in the details. Concentrate on good nutrition, body weight conditioning and technique, technique, technique.

In terms of match day nutrition, I’m assuming most of his weigh ins will be in the morning. I’d recommend weighing in on an empty stomach and then eating a breakfast that is easy to digest. I would bring something rather than going with the team to McDonalds. (Though I have seen kids who ate like crap and still win Tulsa Nationals...) In terms of fluid, honesty water is still the best. Outside of that, if he needs some calories between bouts, you could just use cheap Gatorade. If you really want to spend money, then go buy some Vitargo or a good HBCD product. They empty from the stomach quickly and less likely to feel bloated/sick, and less likely to crash than Gatorade. Vitargo is much more expensive and I’m sure smarter guys than me will argue for HBCDs or other but I have found over the years, my guys prefer Vitargo. Purely anecdotal. Personally, probably not needed until HS as children have the ability to recover much quicker. Again, I have watched hundreds of youth matches over the years and always stunned how poorly kids eat and still compete well. The MOST important thing at this age is that he has fun. Our sport has the highest attrition rate of any youth sports. If you can get him to eat healthy and be happy about it at 9, you will be so far ahead in MS and HS.

 

[CorpKiller]

Thanks so much for the great feedback! Sounds like some solid advice.

What do you recommend for an easy digestion?