Part 8 of 9 in the Athlete Nutrition series, built from the weekly nutrition tips in the Hockey IQ book. New here? Start with the Nutrition Basics intro.
Every hockey parent has said some version of it on the drive home: “You just weren’t there tonight.” Not lazy, not slow, exactly. Just a half-step behind the play. Late on the read, a beat slow on the pass, the kind of game where the coach says “unfocused” and you nod because that’s what it looked like.
We’ve had plenty of those games with our daughters in what feels like twenty years of youth hockey, and counting. And we all know parents have different approaches when it comes to “post-game coaching.” We definitely have different approaches in our own family. I’m a firm believer in asking questions rather than providing analysis, counseling, and a post-game breakdown of every move. One could argue that’s because I’m not a hockey player. But truth be told, I believe athletes need to learn from their own performance, and to do that they need to draw their own conclusions. They need to learn how to analyze their game, and everything that led up to it, in order to improve.
So I just listen and ask questions. What do you think happened? How did you feel on the ice? What did you eat today?
That last question is the one this post is about, because more often than I’d like to admit, it’s the one that explains the other two.
The tip from the book
Your brain needs fuel to recognize patterns, process information, and make fast decisions.
The book’s quick rule: A fueled brain reacts faster.
This is the tip that ties the whole nutrition section back to the rest of the Hockey IQ book. Everything the book teaches about reading the play, anticipating the pass, and staying composed under pressure happens in the brain. And the brain is an energy-hungry organ. It runs mostly on carbohydrate, and it’s the first thing to slow down when a player is under-fueled or dehydrated. A tired brain doesn’t just feel tired. It reads the play a half-second late, forgets the system, and makes the low-probability choice. Most “lazy” or “unfocused” shifts are fuel problems, not effort problems.
Smart choices from the book
- 🟨 Fruit
- 🟨 Oatmeal
- 🟨 Whole-grain toast
- 🟦 Water or sports drink
And from the Nutrition IQ appendix at the back of the book:
- 🟧 Nuts. The book calls them brain fuel: a small handful gives you healthy fats for focus, energy that lasts, and help with recovery.
- 🟥🟨 Eggs and whole grains for B vitamins, which help turn food into energy and support brain function.
- 🟪 Colorful fruit and vegetables for antioxidants. Training creates stress; antioxidants help clean up after it.
- 🟦 Water. Even mild dehydration slows reaction time, which we covered in Part 3.
Sleep counts too
The book puts good sleep on its list of “better energy choices” for a reason. A well-fed brain that slept six hours still reads the game slowly. Fuel and sleep work together, and for a varsity athlete with a schedule like the one I wrote about in Part 5, fuel is often the only one of the two we can actually do anything about on a Tuesday.
The three questions
The book asks its own version of my drive-home questions, and it asks them of the player, not the parent. Before a word about effort or attitude:
Hydrated or dehydrated? Fueled or hungry? Rested or tired?
Fix the honest answer first. Most of the time, that’s the whole conversation. And it moves the whole thing from “what’s wrong with you” to “what did the tank look like,” which is a question a teenager will actually answer, and, more to the point, a question she’ll eventually start asking herself.
Recipe kids can make themselves: Brain-Fuel Trail Mix
Five minutes, no cooking, makes enough for a week of school and practice snacks.
You need:
- 1 cup mixed nuts: almonds, cashews, walnuts, or whatever’s in the house 🟧🟩🟪
- ½ cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds 🟧🟩
- ½ cup dried fruit: raisins, cranberries, or dried cherries 🟨🟪
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips 🟪
- ½ cup whole-grain cereal or pretzels 🟨
- A container with a lid
Steps:
- Pour everything into the container.
- Put the lid on and shake until it’s mixed.
- Portion a small handful into a snack bag for the backpack or the hockey bag each day.
Healthy fats for focus, carbs for quick energy, antioxidants for recovery. If your team or school is nut-free, swap the nuts for extra seeds and pretzels. This one lives in the dorm room too.
Quick rule: A fueled brain reacts faster.
FIND. A. WAY.
Anika
Every week of the Hockey IQ book ends with a nutrition tip like this one, plus a full Nutrition IQ appendix at the back. Get the book · Back to Athlete Nutrition
