Diet for 15yo Football Player

My son is 15 starting 9th grade here in Southlake, TX

Our School Southlake Carroll Dragons have won state 4 of last 5 years and been USA Today national champions last 2 years.

My son is 5"11 220 lineman. I’ve been basically letting him eat what ever he wanted.

However, He has show an interest in proper nutrition.

I’m not the right person to ask, hence my post.

I’m 6’7" 325 so he has potential to grow.

here is a video of him

he has 5.1 40 speed and just this year started lifting weights.

I just need help with the nutrition.

Keep it simple just lots of good food. Thats it really. Dont get to complicated hes a kid just feed the need with good food meats fruits, veggies, milk hell pizza with his friends.

If you want something just a guideline id look at the Sevens Habits article by John Berardi but really just make sure he’;s getting enough FOOD in general from as good a sources as he can plenty of protein, and dont make this a Job its food and he’s Young

Phill

Agree with what Phil said, especially about making sure he eats enough. You don’t want him to be fat and slow, but if he’s looking to play lineman for a school like that I’m sure they’re going to want him to be at least 250. And if you’re 6’7", I’m sure he’s going to grow some more so his frame will be able to handle the weight.

I’d say emphasize on him eating a good, big healthy breakfast and get used to eating some healthy snacks like a tuna sandwich on wheat bread. He’s a kid so he’s going to eat some junk (and probably should to keep his weight up), so just steer that towards post-workout. Get the healthy breakfasts and snacks and then beat up the Wendy’s after lifting or practice.

Pretty much what Phill said. Just make sure he’s keeping good eating habits, and an occasional pizza with his buddies wouldn’t hurt.

I went to the Univ. of Oklahoma, and our kicker, Garrett Hartley, went to Southlake Carroll. He’s a senior this year, and has been really good for us.

Here is a link for the 7 Habits by Dr. John Berardi that would be good for you and your son to read.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459493

Good luck to your son on his goals and his upcoming football season.

Your kid sounds like a potential scholarship if he hits a growth spurt and hits your height or anywhere near it.5’11 220 is already a good size for just a freshman.I’m a junior center and I’m still 5’8" and just getting to the 230 mark.I can’t give alot of nutrition advice because I ate everything I saw to gain the weight but I can say that hitting the weights hard and often will really benefit him.Good luck to you and your son.

Nice highlight tape. Your kid can play. I agree that you should read over and apply the information in Berardi’s 7 Habits article. You should also consider purchasing his Precision Nutrition package.

You will definitely have to sneak in some extra calories for a growing young athlete…especially if he has the potential to grow to 6’7.

What about supplements.

Obviously we’re under the microscope for steroids and the school says no to creatine.

he’s on a good multi vitamin/mineral supplement

I’ve got him drinking protein right after workouts and before bed.

what else?

[quote]speedswing wrote:
What about supplements.

Obviously we’re under the microscope for steroids and the school says no to creatine.

he’s on a good multi vitamin/mineral supplement

I’ve got him drinking protein right after workouts and before bed.

what else?[/quote]

I wouldn’t worry too much about supplements. I would just make sure he is eating a combination of a lean source of protein, veggies / fruits, and healthy fats every 2-3 hours.

If he can’t get enough protein through his diet (approximately 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight) then a protein powder supplement would be great.

The one time that I think supplements are ideal is during/post workout. I see you already have him taking a protein shake after his workout, but you need to add some carbs to that post workout drink as well.

There should be more carbs than protein in the post workout drink…about a 2:1 ratio (e.g. 80 grams of carbs, 40 grams of protein). These carbs can come from glucose, maltodextrine, dextrose (Gatorade) or any combination of these. Or you can just use whey protein and raisins, or you can just use chocolate milk. If you were to chose a product from this website, Surge would be your best option here.

As for creatine…I don’t know how the school can regulate or test for creatine. He shouldn’t have a problem if he uses it…but I would save your money for now.

Everyone else has taken the conservative approach, so I will take the more liberal approach w/ regards to supplements because you have written “what else?” and it seems that you have both the bankroll and enthusiasm to supply his supplements.

Things I wish I knew about in high school:
-BCAA’s
(Biotest’s BCAA, Scivation’s Xtend, and Xtreme Formulation’s I.C.E.)
-Fish Oil
(Biotest’s Flameout and Carlson’s Liquid Omega 3)
-ZMA
-Creatine Monohydrate

Supplements are not the answer, but can help. None of the above will harm your son, they will only help (and can help immensely). If you have questions about the use of said supplements, please ask.

As mentioned above, the creatine cannot be tested for, detected, etc., creatine is a naturally occurring substance in the body and can also be found in red meat. There is no danger from its use. If your school forcefully opposes it, and you wish to respect its wishes, feel free to omit it.

The food recommendations everyone else has listed are sufficient for his age.

I was a recruited DI football player, so if I can be of further service, please feel free to PM me.

[quote]Affliction wrote:
Everyone else has taken the conservative approach, so I will take the more liberal approach w/ regards to supplements because you have written “what else?” and it seems that you have both the bankroll and enthusiasm to supply his supplements.

Things I wish I knew about in high school:
-BCAA’s
(Biotest’s BCAA, Scivation’s Xtend, and Xtreme Formulation’s I.C.E.)
-Fish Oil
(Biotest’s Flameout and Carlson’s Liquid Omega 3)
-ZMA
-Creatine Monohydrate

Supplements are not the answer, but can help. None of the above will harm your son, they will only help (and can help immensely). If you have questions about the use of said supplements, please ask.

As mentioned above, the creatine cannot be tested for, detected, etc., creatine is a naturally occurring substance in the body and can also be found in red meat. There is no danger from its use. If your school forcefully opposes it, and you wish to respect its wishes, feel free to omit it.

The food recommendations everyone else has listed are sufficient for his age.

I was a recruited DI football player, so if I can be of further service, please feel free to PM me.[/quote]

I agree with this, especially the supps. BUT…you should keep a policy that while they are not harmfull, he should not TELL people he takes the creatine.

As for the food…he’s 15, so big breakfast, good lunch, lots of milk and a BIG dinner. If he downs a protein drink at night that is GREAT!

The rest should take care of itself.

BTW…I wish I had a Dad as into my progam in HS as much as you are. Be carefull though to not get TOO involved, as he may want a little independance from Daddy.

[quote]speedswing wrote:
the school says no to creatine.

[/quote]

When will somebody move to take beef products out of school as it has creatine in it as well?

your kid’s a beast! Don’t be afraid to have him try Power Drive before games… it kicks ass for that, and doesn’t create any dependency for it the way a stimulant will if you take it before every game.

In terms of nutrition, go with Berardi’s 7 habits. Even if he’s not following it super stricly, make sure that every meal he’s getting 40-60 grams of protein.

In terms of supplements from Biotest, I’d go with:
Surge
Metabolic Drive Complete
Creatine
BCAA’s

My son would really go for the chocalate milk:)

He can gain weight really easy. Every summer he has gone to mama n papa’s 4 2 weeks and came back 10lbs +

does Surge or Power Drive have alot of caffeine?

I’ve used NO XPLODE and had heart palpitations.

Flameout do you use fish oil as well?

[quote]speedswing wrote:
My son would really go for the chocalate milk:)

He can gain weight really easy. Every summer he has gone to mama n papa’s 4 2 weeks and came back 10lbs +

does Surge or Power Drive have alot of caffeine?

I’ve used NO XPLODE and had heart palpitations.

Flameout do you use fish oil as well?

[/quote]

Surge is just a Post Workout Drink, but Power Drive I believe does have some caffeine.

Stay away from all the Nitric Oxide products if you’ve had that experience, and definitely don’t let your son near those.

[quote]speedswing wrote:
Flameout do you use fish oil as well?
[/quote]
SS,
Yes, personally I have had drastic body re-composition effects with a high (around 30g) dose of fish oil/day. This will be largely contingent upon your son’s willingness to take the fish oil with every meal.

The brand I listed in my earlier post (Carlson, it’s a liquid) is unmatched in potency when compared to pills. I use it in conjunction with Flameout. Also, consider buying omega-3 eggs and grass-fed beef to use in your everyday cooking around the house to bolster his omega-3 intake.

So basically, if your son is willing, have him take Flameout with two of his meals a day, and another kind of fish oil with the remaining meals, with the exception of the post-workout meal.

The range of benefits of omega-3 supplementation is staggering, and I find it to be dose dependent. The same goes for BCAA’s, if you have a chance to look into those.

[quote]novagreg wrote:
Surge is just a Post Workout Drink, but Power Drive I believe does have some caffeine.

Stay away from all the Nitric Oxide products if you’ve had that experience, and definitely don’t let your son near those.
[/quote]
Nova,
Your other advice is spot-on. Power Drive, however, contains no caffeine.

The only thing I would add to the discussion is to stress the need for good joint maintenance. If your son is going to carry a lot of weight [relatively] and play football at such a high level, I’d say he needs to stay disciplined on the fish oil and maybe take a glucosamine supp too.

Some people might have good genes for joint health, but I know a lot of people [including myself] who have that ‘football build’ who can have a lot of joint problems down the line. Better to start thinking ahead, in my book.

Good luck.