HOCKEY
EATING FOR YOUR SPORT
Your sport:
Hockey is a team sport played on grass or artificial turf. Games are divided into
two 35 minute halves with 11 players on each side, engaging in fast pace play with
the aim of scoring as many goals as possible.
The high intensity nature of the game involving dribbling, passing, tackling and shooting
requires endurance, speed, strength, skill and agility. Having low body fat levels can be an
advantage in hockey to enhance performance.
Training for this sport can range from one session a week to multiple sessions each day
depending on the level of the player. Training can consist of speed and endurance work, skills
sessions and resistance training.
At a recreational level, competitions may involve one game during the week and/or a game at the
weekend. At an elite level, there may be tournaments with a series of games over a number of days.
As with many other team sports, the nutritional demands for hockey players vary depending on the position played.
However, all players should focus on good nutrition and hydration strategies. This helps to improve their performance and
assist with recovery from training sessions and games.
This Nutrition Advice Sheet is aimed for those who compete and train at a recreational level. Elite players require different
nutrition pre and post training and/or competition strategies.
TRAINING DIET:
Hockey is a highly physical sport. A
varied and balanced carbohydrate rich
diet is ideal. Players should therefore aim
to include:
- Fruits and vegetables every day –
aim for a variety of colours
- Breads and cereals – pasta, rice,
bread, rolled oats, breakfast cereal,
kumara, potatoes and noodles
- Low fat dairy products – including
milk, yoghurt and cheese
- Lean protein - meat, poultry, fish,
eggs and other protein rich foods like
tofu and pulses
- Healthy fats - vegetable oils, nuts,
seeds and avocado
Carbohydrate
Hockey players require a carbohydrate
rich diet to provide adequate fuel for
training and recovery. Basing meals
and snacks on healthy carbohydrate
rich foods is ideal. These include oats,
grainy breads and crackers, pasta, rice,
noodles and starchy vegetables like
new potato and kumara.
During intense training sessions or games,
additional carbohydrate can be helpful
to provide extra fuel. Sports drinks may
be beneficial during exercise to help
top-up carbohydrates, particularly in hot
conditions when sweat and fluid losses
are likely to be high.
To promote recovery after intense
training or competition, hockey
players will benefit from consuming
carbohydrate immediately. Sports
drinks, jelly beans or a ripe bananas are
a few suitable examples.
Low carbohydrate diets are not suitable
for hockey players and can have a
negative impact on performance and
health. Carbohydrate intake should be
tailored to an individual’s requirements
and weight goals. A Sports Dietitian
or Accredited Sports Nutritionist can
provide further guidance.
PROTEIN
FRUIt & VEGETABLES
Protein is essential for building
muscular strength and assisting with
muscle recovery. Including protein in
all meals and most snacks can help
meet protein needs. This includes
foods such as lean meat, fish, chicken,
eggs, pulses (e.g. chickpeas, kidney
beans, lentils and baked beans), nuts
and dairy products.
Fruit and vegetables are essential for
good health and performance and
should be included at every main
meal. Including a range of fresh, frozen,
dried and canned varieties will help
meet your nutrient and antioxidant
requirements and is convenient, tasty
and affordable. Adding vegetables into
cooking or fruit to your meals is also a
great way to boost your fibre, vitamin
and mineral intake. Try slicing a banana
or pear onto breakfast cereal, adding
dried fruit to salad or grated carrot and
courgette into mince.
It is especially important to include
some protein in the meal or snack
eaten after training, as this will assist
with rapid muscle repair and recovery.
Liquid breakfast drinks, MILO or
smoothies made with low fat milk,
yoghurt and fruit, creamed rice, or
cereal with added milk or yoghurt, are
all good options.
FAT
For all hockey players it is important to
include some healthy fats each day
including avocado, nuts, seeds, oily
fish and vegetable oils. The amount
of these fats that are needed will
depend on an individual’s weight
goals and energy requirements
(how many calories/kJs are required
each day). Unhealthy fats should be
avoided as much as possible. This
includes the skin on chicken, white fat
on meat, butter and fat often used in
cakes, biscuits and many takeaways.
Key COMPETITION foods
✓ Smoothies, flavoured milk
✓ Breakfast cereal
✓ Rice, pasta or noodle dishes
✓ Fruit bread, toast, English
muffins
✓ Creamed rice
✓ Sandwiches, filled rolls
✓ Water, sports drink
✓ Liquid meal supplements
✓ Low fat yoghurt
✓ Fruit bars, muesli bars,
breakfast bars
✓ Pancakes
✓ Fruit
A sample one day
meal plan for hockey
Breakfast:
• Natural muesli with fresh or canned
fruit and yoghurt/low fat milk OR
• Wholegrain toast with poached eggs,
tomato and spinach and a glass of
fruit juice OR
• UNCLE TOBYS Rolled Oats with low fat
milk and a piece of fruit or juice
NUTRITION PROFILE:
Charlotte Harrison
Why do you think nutrition is
important for your sport?
• Dried fruit and nuts OR
• Wholegrain crackers with cottage
cheese, tuna or hummus and a
tomato OR
• Yoghurt or MILO with low fat milk and
fresh fruit
I feel nutrition is important to help me
perform at my best. Eating the right
food helps me to play at my best.
When I play for the national team we
have our eating routines sorted out
down to the minute. We consume a light
meal 3 hours before the game; 1 hour
before the game we have some additional
carbohydrates and during the game we
consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per
hour. Afterwards we follow the recovery pathway
religiously. Eating the right foods at the right
time makes us play at our optimal levels, and most
importantly makes us feel fantastic.
Lunch:
What is your favourite training snack?
• Wholegrain bread rolls or wrap filled
with hummus, lean meat/canned fish in
spring water and salad ingredients OR
• Pasta/rice with tuna and vegetables OR
• Healthy burritos or sushi
Add a piece of fruit and/or yoghurt to
each option
Corn thins are my favourite snack. My favourite topping is vegemite and
avocado but other toppings like cottage cheese and tomato or hummus are
great as well. I also love smoothies made with low fat milk, yoghurt and lots of berries.
If travelling, pack a combination of fresh
fruit, milk drinks or fruit juice carton with
yoghurt, cereal bars or sandwiches
Morning Tea:
PRE afternoon training:
• Good snacks prior to training may
include sandwiches, fruit toast with
peanut butter and jam, dairy snacks,
smoothies, baked fruit bars or fruit.
DURING/AFTER TRAINING
Drink water. You may need a sports drink if
training for over 90 minutes.
After intense training consume some
carbohydrate immediately e.g. a sports
drink, jelly beans, pikelets, crumpet, white
roll, ripe banana. To improve recovery it is
recommended to also have some protein
after finishing training e.g. pottle of yoghurt,
glass of milk or milk based smoothie
Dinner:
• Lean meat or chicken and vegetables
with pasta and tomato-based sauce OR
• Steamed or grilled fish with
homemade wedges and salad OR
• Lean meat or chicken and vegetable
stir-fry with rice or noodles OR
• Lean steak, potatoes and vegetables
or salad
NUTRITIONIST’S NOTE
This meal is a general example only.
It should be altered to suit individual
energy requirements depending on
age, gender and training load. For those
who train at an elite level and/or twice
or more a day additional pre training
snacks and post training recovery food/
drinks will be required. Contact a Sports
Dietitian for guidance.
Key foods FOR AN
ATHLETE’S fridge/Freezer
Key foods FOR AN
ATHLETE’S pantry
✓ Fresh vegetables – the more
variety the better
✓ Frozen vegetables
✓ Lean meats/poultry – beef,
lamb, chicken, trim pork, low
fat ham
✓ Fresh and frozen fish
✓ Eggs
✓ Low fat milk
✓ Low fat yoghurt
✓ Reduced fat cheese e.g. Edam
✓ Margarine - canola, olive or rice
bran
✓ Noodles, pasta, rice
✓ Bread – preferably wholegrain
✓ Breakfast cereals e.g. UNCLE
TOBYS Rolled Oats, natural
muesli etc.
✓ Canned spaghetti and beans
✓ Canned creamed rice
✓ Wholegrain crackers, rice
crackers
✓ Low fat biscuits and muesli bars
✓ Canned salmon and tuna
✓ Canned pasta sauce,
tomatoes, tomato puree
✓ CARNATION Light & Creamy
Evaporated Milk
✓ Sauces and condiments e.g.
sweet chili, BBQ, mustard, relish
✓ Vegetable oil/spray
✓ Herbs and spices
✓ Spreads – honey, jam, peanut
butter (low salt & sugar)
✓ Fresh, canned and dried fruit
✓ MILO - Energy Food Drink
COACHES NUTRITION TIP
Mark Hager – National Coach
New Zealand Women’s Hockey team
Think of hockey players as highperformance automobiles and food as the
fuel that drives their performance. Far too
often, players run out of gas during a game
after having lunch at a fast-food restaurant
or forgetting to eat breakfast. This would be
like putting diesel fuel in your tank instead
of regular gas or trying to drive on empty.
You can be the most skilled player in the
world, but if you aren’t putting the right fuel
into your tank, you won’t have the energy
to compete at the highest level. In order for
players perform their best day in and day
out, they need to take in premium fuel.
Competition day
eating
Well planned nutrition can help improve
game day performance and assist players
to maintain skills and judgment, especially
in the second half of a game when they
may otherwise become fatigued.
Eating before a game:
A low fat, carbohydrate rich meal 1-4
hours before a game is ideal. Examples
include grainy toast with poached eggs,
pasta with chicken and a tomato based
sauce, or UNCLE TOBYS Rolled Oats with
low fat milk and fruit.
What to eat during a game:
Use the half time break to focus on
nutrition and hydration. This is a good
time to use sports drinks and/or water.
Sports drinks can be helpful to provide
carbohydrate as well as electrolytes
which are particularly helpful for those
who sweat heavily in exercise. For those
who are able to tolerate solid food,
fruit or lollies along with water or sports
drinks can be helpful. The key thing to
remember is to try out eating/drinking
strategies during training and not just
save them for game day. This will help
you to find the best options for you and
get your body used to eating/drinking
during games.
What to do for recovery:
Refueling after training and games
is important to replenish muscle
glycogen (carbohydrate) stores and
help the body recover so it is ready for
more training. Focusing on recovery is
particularly important during periods of
heavy training and during tournaments.
Carbohydrate and protein rich snacks
are ideal. Here are some ideas:
- A bagel with tuna
- A bowl of cereal and low fat milk
- A fruit and yoghurt smoothie with honey
- Creamed rice and fruit
- MILO with low fat milk
For those who train at a higher level or
are involved in multiple competitions
in one day, a sports drink immediately
after training may be helpful to increase
the speed of recovery. Talk to a Sports
Dietitian or Accredited Sports Nutritionist
for more information.
Special issues anD
requirements for HOCKEY:
• High fluid losses – With intense training
and fast game play, dehydration can
become a major issue. Aim to keep
well hydrated at all times, making sure
you bring water to all training sessions
and games. Sports drinks may also
be helpful especially when additional
carbohydrate is required.
• Body fat levels – Periods of inactivity,
such as the off-season or the result of
an injury break, are often a time of
significant increase in body fat. Players
should cut down on excess sources
of ‘empty’ energy (i.e. foods which
provide calories/kJs but few nutrients)
yet still maintain an adequate intake
of nutrient-dense carbohydrate and
lean protein. Key areas to target
include alcohol, high fat content
foods and refined carbohydrates like
cakes, biscuits, and soft drinks. It may
also be necessary to reduce the size
of meal portions and reconsider the
number of snacks consumed.
• Coping with a busy lifestyle –
Balancing training and games with
school or work can often mean players
are short of time. To ensure nutrition
and hydration are not forgotten, it’s
important to plan ahead. Plan meals
and snacks for the week and shop
accordingly. Have snacks in your bag,
desk or car in case you get stuck!
• Alcohol - Is often a large part of post
hockey game activities. Drinking
alcohol to excess can compromise
recovery, slow the repair of injuries and
contribute to excess weight. Players
should concentrate on rehydrating
and refueling with carbohydrate rich
foods and fluids before having any
alcoholic drinks. It is also advisable to
avoid any alcohol in the 24-48 hours
after exercise if any soft tissue injuries or
bruising have occurred.
pumpkin, kumara & feta salad
Serves 4
2 kumara, cubed
4 cups cubed pumpkin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pkt MAGGI Pumpkin &
Roasted Garlic Soup Mix
¼ cup walnut halves
100g feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs
e.g. coriander, basil, parsley
baby spinach leaves to serve
DRESSING
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
juice of 1 lemon
freshly ground black pepper
• Preheat oven to 200˚C. Line a
roasting dish with baking paper.
• Place kumara and pumpkin in
dish. Add oil and soup mix, toss
well. Bake in preheated oven for
30-35 minutes, stirring once during
cooking.
• Add walnut halves and bake for a
further 5 minutes or until vegetables
are tender. Allow to cool.
• Toss feta and herbs through roasted
vegetables add walnuts.
• Place dressing ingredients in a small
bowl and whisk to combine.
• Serve salad on baby spinach
leaves drizzled with dressing.
This recipe is from the Fit Food for Winners cookbook. To order your copy, visit www.nestle.co.nz.
For more information and to obtain further copies
of any of the Eating for Your Sport Nutrition Advice
Sheets, visit www.nutrition.nestle.co.nz
or www.mish.org.nz
© Nestlé New Zealand Limited & Millennium Institute
of Sport & Health 2009. Issued November 2011