Thanks to Director of Sports Medicine Bill Coffey contacting and bringing her in, Nichols student-athletes were pleased to welcome well-known sports nutrition speaker Leslie Bonci to Hal Chalmers Field House on Wednesday night.
Leslie J. Bonci, R.D., M.P.H., L.D.N., one of the country’s most recognized sports nutritionists, is the Director of Sports Medicine Nutrition for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Center for Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She serves as the sports dietitian for the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Athletics and is a nutrition consultant for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Riverhounds professional soccer team, Milwaukee Brewers, and formerly worked with the Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays. In addition, she is the company nutritionist for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and a sports nutrition consultant to numerous high schools and universities. She is also the consulting nutritionist for the US Olympic Canoe and Kayak Team. Bonci also said she has worked with major professional athletes such as Maxime Talbot (NHL), Casey Hampton (NFL), and Prince Fielder (MLB) to name a few.
Bonci spoke about the effect food and liquid consumption has on athletes before and after workouts. According to Bonci, athletes should consume either a bottle of water or a little more than a cup of food an hour prior to a contest or practice to increase their strength and limit their fatigue during play. Approximately 15 minutes after the contest or practice, it is then good to eat a small snack such as a granola bar which will help cut down the recovery time one’s body needs, because if one does not do this, a body will need upwards of 24 hours to recover.
Another valuable point was made by Bonci when she stated that supplements such as the use of Muscle Milk before or after a workout could be replaced with things such as orange juice or low-fat chocolate milk and they will have the same effects. Another valuable tip for college students to decrease the number of cramps an athlete will get, is just the simple addition of more water and salt to a diet.
Bill Coffey was pleased to bring in Bonci for the evening’s presentation. He has found that student-athletes put a lot of time in the weight room and in practice, but don’t have a lot of information on how what they eat can help regenerate their bodies. He had read some of Bonci’s articles, and felt that her simple and useful information will really benefit the Nichols College student-athletes.
After the event was over, a few student athletes gave their thoughts on the presentation and almost all of them said what they got most from the event was they realized how bad their eating habits were, how they liked the inexpensive tips offered by Bonci, and how they were unaware what they should eat before and after a contest to get the best results possible. Most of them also said they would be contacting Bonci to take her up on her offer and see if she had any tips to fix their eating patterns.
Bonci said she especially enjoys talking to college student-athletes about nutrition, adding that every college has a dining hall with food in it, and student-athletes just need to eat things properly to maintain their athletic abilities. Bonci also said that she enjoyed talking to college students because they are understanding and always looking for tips for eating healthier and smarter. She felt that after her presentation, Nichols student-athletes will follow suit.