Adopt An Athlete Part 1

Sarah Pagnanelli

Dating back to the Greek classical era, field hockey remains one of the world’s oldest

team sports. Simply put, field hockey is a game where teams come together on a field and use

hockey sticks to drive a ball into a net in order to score points. The winner is determined by

whoever has the most points at the end of the game. When played on a collegiate level, field

hockey games are separated into two halves, each lasting 35 minutes with a seven-minute half

time in between. Each team consists of 11 players; one goalkeeper and 10 field players. The field

positions include defenders, midfielders and offenders.

My athlete, Kaelyn Long, plays Division 1 field hockey for Bucknell University. She is a

19 year old female, who is a sophomore on the team. Kaelyn typically plays a little over half of

each game, and plays the midfield position. The midfield position is known as the position that

does the most running on the field, clocking in at nearly 5-6 miles per game. Besides the games,

she does various other training during the week. The team does 6 days of field training, lifting

twice a week for one hour, and a long run, typically 3 miles, once per week. This information

puts her in the “very active category” on Eat Tracker. Kaelyn’s personal goals include increasing

her bench max, building endurance, staying fit (specifically in her legs), and being more versatile

on the field. She has played field hockey competitively for eight years, with two of those years

being collegiately.

Kaelyn is currently 5’ 9” and weighs roughly 160 pounds. Her usual weight range is 150-

160 lbs, but her ideal body weight is 150. She has weighed 160 pounds for about the last year,

which has been roughly her time in college. Her current BMI is 23.6, which puts her in the
healthy range. She does not have any current medical complications or previous history of any,

except that she currently is Iron deficient, and takes 65 mg of a Ferasulfate Iron Supplement

daily. Kaelyn eats three meals per day, 2 snacks per day, typically eats out once or twice a week,

and does not skip meals.

Nutrition Assessment:

Day 1: (day before game)

Nature Valley Soft Baked Oatmeal Bar- Banana Bread and Dark Chocolate
Chobani Flip Yogurt- Mint Chocolate Chip
Small Dunkin Iced Coffee- Original Blend, Caramel Swirl, 2 Cream
Salad- Grilled Chicken, Cheese, Hard Boiled Egg, Carrots, Sunflower Seeds, Balsamic Dressing
2 Oreo Magic Bars
Acai Bowl- Banana, Frozen Fruit, Peanut Butter, Milk, Honey, Coconut, Granola

Day 2: (game day)

Panera Bagel w/ honey wheat cream cheese
Panera Yogurt Parfait
10 Tostito Chips
½ C Black Bean Corn Salsa
1 C Greek Chicken Salad
½ C Sliced Strawberries
¼ C Sliced Kiwi
1 Watermelon Triangle
1 Chocolate Chip Cookie
BBQ Burger (no bun or cheese)
French Fries
2 Mozzarella Sticks

Day 3: (day after game)

3 Scrambled Eggs
3 Slices of Bacon
1 Piece of White Toast
Chipotle- Brown Rice, Chicken, Cheese, Sour Cream, Lettuce
Acai Bowl- Banana, Frozen Fruit, Peanut Butter, Milk, Honey, Coconut, Granola
½ Dark Chocolate Bar
 One of my first observations of Kaelyn’s diet was that she was undereating. Her

recommended amount of daily calories was 3,053, but her average for the three days was only

2,050 calories, therefore showing that she doesn’t eat enough for her body type/size and amount

of physical activity that she is participating in. Her average intake of fat was 87.1 g, which was

in her recommended range of 67.8-118.7 g. For carbohydrates, Kaelyn consumed 236.1 g,

putting her well below her recommended daily intake of 343.5-496.1 grams. To increase this to

the appropriate range, I could recommend that she include more whole grains and fruits into her

diet, and maybe even sports drinks during games or practices. For protein, she consumed 93.5 g,

which is within the range of 76.3-267.1 g. Her sodium intake was at 2,116.5 g, which is above

the recommended daily intake of 1500 g. Some foods in her diet that could be contributing to this

could be salsa, chips, sauces (barbeque sauce), and fried foods, including french fries and

mozzarella sticks. Vitamin A, B12, and C were all over the RDI, while Vitamin D and E were

below the RDI. For calcium, she consumed 880.1 g on average, which was below the RDI of

1000 g. To increase calcium intake, my athlete should consume more dairy products, which

could include chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is also known to have other positive benefits for

athletes. Lastly, her average intake for Iron was 12.3 g, which is below the recommended intake

of 18 g. However, she does take a daily Iron Supplement daily. I wish that I could have gotten

Kaelyn to track how much water she drinks in a day, but she has said that she drinks a ton of

water throughout the day, so I do not think that there would be any needed steps to improve in

that aspect. Overall, I think that Kaelyn is doing a fairly well job of fueling herself for field

hockey. I would say that she can eat more food than she thinks she can, but I would also say that
she needs to be conscious about the food decisions she is making. Since carbohydrates are our

main source of energy, she definitely needs to work on getting that to the appropriate range.

Recommended Actual Average

Daily Intake Days 1, 2, 3 Intake
67.8-118.7 Fat 90.8 g, 68.7 g, 101.9 g 87.1 g
343.5-496.1 Carb 297.2 g, 214.6 g, 196.4 g 236.1 g
76.3-267.1 Protein 81.5 g, 91.5 g, 107.6 g 93.5 g
1500 Sodium 1006.5 g, 3239.7 g, 2103.8 g 2,116.5 g
700 Vitamin A 1317.2 g, 666.2 g, 391.4 g 791.6 g
75 Vitamin C 73.4 g, 149.8 g, 52.7 g 91.9 g
15 Vitamin D 4.2 g, 1.5 g, 5.4 g 3.7 g
15 Vitamin E 14.2 g, 6.8 g, 10.3 g 10.4 g
2.4 Vitamin B12 3.6 g, 6.5 g, 4.3 g 4.8 g
1000 Calcium 825.9 g, 961.8 g, 852.7 g 880.1 g
18 Iron 12.3 g, 14.7 g, 9.8 g 12.3 g

Part 2