Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State water polo makes nutrition a priority
9/25/2019 10:08:00 AM | Water Polo
FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State water polo team puts a big emphasis on the importance of nutrition in everyday life for its student-athletes. The coaching staff and the team have relied heavily on the guidance and resources of Director of Sports Nutrition Alisha Parker and her staff.
Parker joined the Bulldog family in 2017, becoming the first Director of Sports Nutrition at Fresno State. In her role with the program, Parker works closely with the sports medicine staff and strength and conditioning staff in support of the nutritional goals of the Bulldog coaches and student-athletes. Within this collaborative group, they work to enhance the overall objective of meeting the sports performance goals of all the department's intercollegiate athletic teams.
"The water polo team does a great job of utilizing all of our resources and refueling optimally throughout the day," Parker said. "Not only do they have snacks in their locker room for before practice, but we have snacks for post practice that they can grab on their way to class. The water polo coaching staff also communicates well with its strength staff and trainers so that the student-athletes have snacks for quick energy before lift and for recovery after lift. The team also does a fantastic job on the road when it comes to choosing nutrient dense meal options. This allows the student-athletes to not only be fueled for their games and practice, but they are also fueled for recovery and injury prevention."
Junior Trystyn Vuori and sophomore Sienna Jagielski are two Bulldogs that have embraced the nutrition staff and have used their knowledge and resources to help them elevate their game to a new level.
Gobulldogs.com sat down with Parker, Vuori and Jagielski to discuss how critical nutrition has changed the game for Fresno State student-athletes.
Q: How has your nutrition improved since starting college? What were some challenges?"
Jagielski: "When I first got to college, I had never cooked for myself. Alisha taught me how to put meals together, especially the different types of protein that my body needs. Then we learned which carbs and vegetables to use to make it a complete meal. I feel like I know how to fuel my body better, which helps me in the pool, at school and all throughout the day."
Vuori: "My nutrition has improved dramatically. I was used to meals being cooked for me at home, so I didn't know how to cook for myself. Alisha and the nutrition team held cooking classes for us. I was able to learn how to put a complete meal together, so that I could put the right foods in my body before and after practice."
Parker: "I would say the biggest transition from high school to college is the work load, and when it comes to nutrition they are all on their own. No one is available to help the student-athletes except for their roommates, coaches and support staff. They take on a bigger practice load when they get to college and that makes it harder with their bigger school work load as well. They can start the day with a healthy breakfast but then they need to also have the skills to pack food to fuel their bodies throughout class as well. If they want to be at the top of their game, they need to figure out which day of the week they can set aside to meal prep. If they don't meal prep then they will find themselves eating snacks throughout the day."
Q: What nutrition resources at Fresno State do you find the most beneficial?
Jagielski: "In the protein lounge, we are provided with protein bars, beef jerky and chocolate milk. This is all to help us recover after weights. She labels the protein drinks in the lounge so we know which one will be most beneficial to us and our recovery. This is great for us throughout the day as well, it makes it easy to go in there and grab a bagel in the morning or a healthy snack during the day. This especially helps when we are busy throughout the day and the only other option would be to get fast food."
Vuori: "At Fresno State we are blessed to have food and snacks provided for us throughout the day in our student-athlete lounge. We are able to go in there before and after practice to get nutrition we need in a really convenient way that fits into our busy schedules. Not having to leave campus makes a big difference for someone like me, who lives farther away from campus. All the snacks in the room are labeled with nutrition facts, so that we understand why those are the snacks we should be choosing and why they are beneficial to the body."
Q: How have Alisha and her sports nutrition staff helped improve your game in and out of the water?
Vuori: "Alisha and her staff help us understand what a well-balanced meal is. They explain what would be good for us to eat before practice and after practice, and what we should be drinking throughout the day. We have one-on-one meetings with Alisha so we can have a personalized plan. She explains what we should be eating and shouldn't be eating for our individual goals."
Jagielski: "Alisha and the nutrition team comes and presents to our entire team once a year, and then we have individual meetings with her to make a customized diet plan. The nutrition team also took us to a grocery store and we got to do a scavenger hunt to put together a healthy meal. It was really fun because we were put in teams, so we made it a competition. We were running up and down the aisles of the grocery store grabbing all of our items. It was a fun team bonding experience and we were able to learn a lot about nutrition."
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley"" -Â The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.
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Parker joined the Bulldog family in 2017, becoming the first Director of Sports Nutrition at Fresno State. In her role with the program, Parker works closely with the sports medicine staff and strength and conditioning staff in support of the nutritional goals of the Bulldog coaches and student-athletes. Within this collaborative group, they work to enhance the overall objective of meeting the sports performance goals of all the department's intercollegiate athletic teams.
"The water polo team does a great job of utilizing all of our resources and refueling optimally throughout the day," Parker said. "Not only do they have snacks in their locker room for before practice, but we have snacks for post practice that they can grab on their way to class. The water polo coaching staff also communicates well with its strength staff and trainers so that the student-athletes have snacks for quick energy before lift and for recovery after lift. The team also does a fantastic job on the road when it comes to choosing nutrient dense meal options. This allows the student-athletes to not only be fueled for their games and practice, but they are also fueled for recovery and injury prevention."
Junior Trystyn Vuori and sophomore Sienna Jagielski are two Bulldogs that have embraced the nutrition staff and have used their knowledge and resources to help them elevate their game to a new level.
Gobulldogs.com sat down with Parker, Vuori and Jagielski to discuss how critical nutrition has changed the game for Fresno State student-athletes.
Q: How has your nutrition improved since starting college? What were some challenges?"
Jagielski: "When I first got to college, I had never cooked for myself. Alisha taught me how to put meals together, especially the different types of protein that my body needs. Then we learned which carbs and vegetables to use to make it a complete meal. I feel like I know how to fuel my body better, which helps me in the pool, at school and all throughout the day."
Vuori: "My nutrition has improved dramatically. I was used to meals being cooked for me at home, so I didn't know how to cook for myself. Alisha and the nutrition team held cooking classes for us. I was able to learn how to put a complete meal together, so that I could put the right foods in my body before and after practice."
Parker: "I would say the biggest transition from high school to college is the work load, and when it comes to nutrition they are all on their own. No one is available to help the student-athletes except for their roommates, coaches and support staff. They take on a bigger practice load when they get to college and that makes it harder with their bigger school work load as well. They can start the day with a healthy breakfast but then they need to also have the skills to pack food to fuel their bodies throughout class as well. If they want to be at the top of their game, they need to figure out which day of the week they can set aside to meal prep. If they don't meal prep then they will find themselves eating snacks throughout the day."
Q: What nutrition resources at Fresno State do you find the most beneficial?
Jagielski: "In the protein lounge, we are provided with protein bars, beef jerky and chocolate milk. This is all to help us recover after weights. She labels the protein drinks in the lounge so we know which one will be most beneficial to us and our recovery. This is great for us throughout the day as well, it makes it easy to go in there and grab a bagel in the morning or a healthy snack during the day. This especially helps when we are busy throughout the day and the only other option would be to get fast food."
Vuori: "At Fresno State we are blessed to have food and snacks provided for us throughout the day in our student-athlete lounge. We are able to go in there before and after practice to get nutrition we need in a really convenient way that fits into our busy schedules. Not having to leave campus makes a big difference for someone like me, who lives farther away from campus. All the snacks in the room are labeled with nutrition facts, so that we understand why those are the snacks we should be choosing and why they are beneficial to the body."
Q: How have Alisha and her sports nutrition staff helped improve your game in and out of the water?
Vuori: "Alisha and her staff help us understand what a well-balanced meal is. They explain what would be good for us to eat before practice and after practice, and what we should be drinking throughout the day. We have one-on-one meetings with Alisha so we can have a personalized plan. She explains what we should be eating and shouldn't be eating for our individual goals."
Jagielski: "Alisha and the nutrition team comes and presents to our entire team once a year, and then we have individual meetings with her to make a customized diet plan. The nutrition team also took us to a grocery store and we got to do a scavenger hunt to put together a healthy meal. It was really fun because we were put in teams, so we made it a competition. We were running up and down the aisles of the grocery store grabbing all of our items. It was a fun team bonding experience and we were able to learn a lot about nutrition."
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley"" -Â The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.
Â
Players Mentioned
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