Campus News - Sports

Nutritionists work to keep Badgers fed, but healthy.

Badger fans get to see a wide variety of bodies in motion — muscular football players, compact wrestlers, speedy basketball players. What they don’t see is the work that goes into keeping those bodies in motion. Feeding athletes an optimal diet — one that will make them properly muscular, compact, or speedy — requires both science and salesmanship.

“It used to be that athletes tried to rely on genetics and working really hard in the weight room and at practice to become champions, and a good diet was the last thing on their minds. But in the past several years, they have realized that adequate nutrition should be number one on the list,” explains UW Health nutritionist Sarah Mattison, who oversees what Badger athletes eat. “Many schools now have a dietician on staff to help serve in developing meal plans and make sure that players are eating healthy. This was not nearly this huge ten years ago. Most professional sports teams are hiring dieticians and nutritionists as well.”

Although not all athletes follow a strict nutritional plan, Mattison hopes they learn the benefits of a healthy diet, not only for its on-field effects, but also for the lifelong benefits. “I don’t only want to help [athletes] with nutrition for the now, but also for the later, so that when [they] get older, all of these healthy food habits carry over,” she says.

Inadequate nutrition can lead to obesity and heart disease, and Mattison must convince athletes that their level of exercise cannot fully compensate for poor nutrition. Though she can control the food they eat at the training table — the meal that they get while preparing for practice or competition — most of their diet is outside of her control.

Jeremy Isensee ’00, another athletic department nutritionist, says the players receive clear advice about how to build a proper meal. “Athletes should eat a very healthy and balanced diet that will help them refuel after hard games and practices,” he says. “We developed a nutrition card labeling system for all the foods we serve and that they should eat. So if we’re not there, they have a good idea of what to pick.”

The cards feature green, yellow, and red borders. “Green, you can eat as much as you want,” Isensee says. “Yellow, a little bit more caution, but a lot of foods actually are yellow. And then we have a red border for things that aren’t good for you. Not all the guys really care — some just want to get their food, but some of the guys really are conscious of it.”

The nutritionists’ advice meets with a mixed reception from athletes, according to Mattison. “I work with all sports, and some take nutrition very seriously, [but] some teams do better than others, and some players — for instance, a lineman versus a receiver — have very different bodies that require different nutritional needs,” she says.

Badger running back P.J. Hill x’10 says that, while the department’s plans don’t govern his diet, they do affect the decisions he makes. “Keeping it real, I eat whatever I want, actually whatever is convenient and I can afford,” he says. “It is too expensive to go and buy what’s on the nutritional plans, but I keep in mind that whatever I eat might hinder me during the next workout.”

Former basketball center Brian Butch ’07, MS’08, however, adheres to his nutritional plan much more strictly. “I tend to do my own thing when it comes to a bite to eat during the off-season, but I always make sure I follow the plan,” he says. Now that his Badger playing days are over, he hopes to continue his basketball career professionally. “I have to eat really, really good during the season, though, because I know that my body can run much better when I am putting the best fuel into it,” he acknowledges. “Because of that, I eat a balanced portion of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and good carbs [as] suggested by the meal plan.”

The temptation for an athlete to blow off a diet can be very strong, explains John Dettman, a strength-and-conditioning coach for the football team. “Not only is [there] a lack of time, resources, and sometimes commitment that makes eating right hard, but a place like Madison sets students up for failure,” he says. “Everywhere you turn, there are cheese curds, fast-food joints, and bars on every corner. Wisconsin as a state is obese anyway, and a town like this is a reflection of why. If you don’t have the time and the money, then you are stuck with very limited options.”

Nutritionists must convince athletes that, though they may be able to work off their calories now, an unhealthy diet will eventually catch up to them, especially when their playing days are over. Later in life, many athletes find themselves overweight because their metabolism doesn’t keep up with their eating habits.

Ben Herbert ’02, a former Badger football player, now coaches strength and conditioning for the Badgers and controls dietary supplements. Because of the environment he is in, he’s forced to stay in shape, which helps him relay a clear message to others about nutrition. “I see a lot of guys that I used to play with get really huge once football [is] over for them,” he says. “Most likely it is because they are continuing to eat really calorie-rich diets that they had in their playing days — when they would work out forty hours a week — to now having those same diets, but only working out one or two days a week or not at all. It just doesn’t work that way. After your metabolism slows down, you need the willpower to discipline yourself to stay active and healthy.”

— Chris Pressley x’09

Five things you should know about tennis player Moritz Baumann x’10:

• While growing up in Germany, Baumann played tennis and soccer until he was forced to pick one sport because of scheduling conflicts (and too much driving for his mother).
• His hometown of Inzlingen in southwest Germany is much quieter than Madison, he says. And with a campus apartment near State Street, he sees Madison at its busiest.
• Baumann was the Badgers’ top-ranked singles player during his sophomore year, and he was the first Badger since 2002 to play in the NCAA singles draw. A two-time All-Big Ten selection, he was the second UW player ever named to the All-Big Ten team as a freshman.
• His decision to play for the Badgers was based on academics and athletics. “I have the opportunity to get a good education and can still practice every day to improve my game,” he says. “In Germany, this wouldn’t be possible, because there are no sports in college.”
• A communication arts major, Baumann hopes to make the pro circuit after college.

Circle the dates: December 4–6, the Badgers travel to Austin for the Texas Invitational. This will be the first shot for the Badger swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championships in March 2009.

Keep an eye on: Nick Fulton x’09. After participating in the Olympic Time Trials with co-captain Kyle Sorensen x’09 in summer 2008, Fulton now looks to lead the Badgers to a successful season. This three-time letter winner is no stranger to a leadership role. When not in the pool, Fulton fulfills his duties as the Big Ten’s student athlete representative on the NCAA’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, speaking on behalf of both UW and Big Ten student athletes.

Think about this: In addition to seven returning sophomores from last year’s squad, the Badgers’ incoming freshman class brings two Olympic Time Trial competitors and was ranked ninth in the nation by collegeswimming.com. The balanced roster includes 14 upperclassmen, laying the foundation for a bright future, which head coach Eric Hansen hopes begins with the team breaking into the top 20 this season.