Twenty five years ago and beyond, when today's high school football coaches were players themselves, no one would have eaten a banana for breakfast to stave off cramps or chugged quarts of water during camp or practice.

	Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Chad Parker, Penn Hills player, likes his french fries. Click photo for larger image.

In those days such measures were little talked about, and to the extent they were, they weren't considered manly. Instead, teenage boys trying to prove their machismo trained under the relentless heat of the sun and crushing weight of uniforms with no liquids and only salt tablets to keep them going.

Today, football camp is as much about nutrition as it is about knowing the plays.

"In the olden days, you were a sissy if you drank water. Obviously the coaches today are squared away with what you need to do. If you have the kids drained and beat up, you haven't accomplished anything," said Neil Gordon, who is in his 29th season at Penn Hills High School, 18 as head coach. "Nowadays, it's changed. I want my kids to be very healthy and very fresh."

Gordon works closely with the district's food service staff planning menus that provide a mix of carbohydrates, proteins and salt.

"They know my intentions and desires as well as I do," said Gordon, who likes his players to eat such things as pasta, turkey, stuffing, pork chops, baked potatoes, cereal and "tons of fruit." There are also sandwiches, the occasional pizza and french fries for their salt content. On one recent camp day, 11 pork roasts -- 80 pounds worth -- were being prepared for dinner.

During camp -- 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily -- Gordon requires players to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the school cafeteria, in part so coaches and trainers can monitor what players are eating.

"I tell all my coaches, the cafeteria ladies and I tell my kids, 'If you see someone not eating, I need to know immediately,' " said Gordon.

Schooled in nutrition

He is not alone. Coaches throughout the region -- who have been overseeing football camps for the past two weeks before the season begins Aug. 26 -- said schooling players, and even their parents, about proper nutrition is a key element on the pre-season agenda.

Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Cafeteria worker Bev Hoover adds fries to a tray of corn dogs for a Penn Hills player at preseason football camp. Click photo for larger image.

"I think the whole nutritional idea has changed, big time," said Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac who has spent 34 years working with young players. "In the last 20 to 25 years, we've gotten a lot smarter. It's completely changed because people have taken time to do more studies and pay more attention to athletes."

Zmijanac advocates lots of carbohydrates and proteins for his players along with water and Gatorade.

Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at UPMC, works with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. A decade ago, she started getting calls from high school coaches seeking her advice, including Jim Render, coach at Upper St. Clair for 27 years.

"We've evolved with the times as much as anybody," Render said. "If you're a college coach, you can control what they eat because they're at your cafeteria or your training table. But when they leave here, I don't have that control, so we try to work with the mothers the best we can."

Good nutrition is a coaching mantra across the region.

The chicken wings, steaks and other fried foods, for example, that once were a staple of the Thursday night team dinner, have now given way to spaghetti dinners, Render said.

"I think we were one of the original teams that had pasta parties on Thursday nights, so they got away from the fried foods that used to be so popular," Render said. "We got them out of that. We try to emphasize more balanced diets."

"All over the country, I give lectures," Bonci said. "The coaches are saying, 'We need to think about the eating end of this.' "

From a practical standpoint, high school coaches need to be schooled in proper nutrition for players because districts are liable for the health and safety of students.

Teens' needs are changing

What's more, as times have changed, so have teens.

Today's generation is more sedentary and less acclimated to hot weather, given air conditioning and the profusion of indoor amusements, such as video games and the Internet, Bonci said. Even active teens may find that practice in the heat, whether at football camp or band camp, can be a shock to the system.

"Kids are also staying up a lot later at night than when these coaches played," Bonci observed. "Then, they're sleeping later and not eating breakfast."

Today's teens also are managing their own meals.

"It used to be we could say, 'It doesn't matter what we do, they'll eat a well-balanced meal at home," Bonci said. "Wrong. It doesn't happen."

What's more, many teens are living in homes where adults are dieting. As a result their parents may be leaving important nutritional elements out of their teenage diets.

Simply put: Your adult diet is probably not appropriate for your teen.

"Kids are still growing, so calorically, their needs are higher," Bonci said. "And certainly any active teen needs more carbohydrates and sodium than someone who stays inside most days."

Finally, the market is flooded with supplements and energy drinks that have the potential to do more harm than good.

"With many of these products, the caffeine content isn't low and they're drinking several," Bonci said. "Sure, they're providing carbohydrates but with a tremendous amount of stimulant. Then what you've got is a kid with a racing heartbeat."

All of those factors make it essential today for coaches to stress good nutrition, including a proper diet, drinking water and juices instead of carbonated soda and getting plenty of rest, Bonci said.

At the very least, students should go to camp or morning practices carrying a water bottle and fueled by breakfast such as cereal or even a peanut butter sandwich.

It doesn't end after practice

Bonci also advocates what she calls recovery nutrition, or giving teens something to eat and drink immediately after an activity so they start to replace the carbohydrates they burned.

"After practice, we don't need a lot," Bonci said. "We need something like a trail mix, peanut butter crackers, a granola bar. It has to be a carbohydrate primarily."

Aliquippa's Zmijanac started doing just that about eight years ago.

"What we found is that if we didn't feed them between practice and the team meetings, they didn't eat," Zmijanac said.

Now the Quarterback Club, made up of team supporters, arranges for the teens to have a sandwich, cookies or other snacks, until dinner.

That meal should be two-thirds carbohydrates, such as pasta, rice, corn and potatoes, some fruits and vegetables, and one-third protein.

"They've got to replace the carbohydrates because that's what is depleted from the body," Bonci said.

Emphasizing good nutrition and sleeping habits only makes sense, Bonci said. Kids are less likely to get sick or hurt, they develop bones and muscles properly, they're more alert and ready for practice or play, Bonci said.

"If done right, it does make a difference.