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My son is 12 and plays football to a high level.
Like me he suffers from energy levels that fall off a cliff without warning
We are making sure he eats properly the night before matches / breakfast etc. Recently jelly babies have been shown to really work for him and keep him going.
A couple of the lads are using energy gels. I’m not convinced this is a good thing at that age or am I over thinking it?
Thanks
There’s lots of advice but the general answer is no. Having said that, both my kids have a bottle with Torq Energy in it at the end of the pool becuase
A) one swims/trains at near elite level for 2hrs a session
B) the other - now swimming near County level - is hypoglycaemic
I use Torq becuase it’s natural ingredients, and the kids wash their teeth when they come home. So it’s one drink, and we feed them up with real foods either side for energy and recovery.
No doubt someone will be along to call me evil very soon.
Energy gel and organised football is probably better than monster and hanging out down the park.
I’d avoid anything with caffeine but as a sugar hit I personally don’t see an issue. Sports nutrition has moved on from sucking an orange slice at half time.
The drinks or energy sweets (I like clif blocks) are probably better than a traditional gel sachet, only because at 12 I think he should be having half portions.
energy sweets
I was just about to edit my post - the general advice is don’t use anything they can chew as this increases the dental impact.
having half portions
Is a good idea, my edit was about to be that - my kids have a 750ml bottle with a 500ml portion of Torq powder.
Personal choice but I'd avoid them as I know what they do to me (go right through me at a fair rate of knots)...
If energy levels are dropping then possible needing to eat more slow-release carbs to help sustain the energy levels - not easy but possibly a better approach in the long-run.
I have the same issue but I've yet to get my kick up the backside to get it sorted for myself properly. The times I have tried to ensure a good mix of fast, medium and slow carbs I have noticed a difference - more energy and lasted longer, but I then forget to repeat the process!
It's no worse than a bag of sweets, can of sugary pop etc.
Gels are expensive and mostly for speed convenience. If he can manage through a half then just handful of sweets would be cheaper and not set a precedent of needing "special" food.
How long is a game? I've no idea if it's a good idea to top up on refined sugar or let your body adapt? I know I become really sugar dependent and have highs and lows when I'm racing a lot as my diet on the bike when racing is drinks and gels and it messes me up!
Gels are very expensive, but a bottle of squash with maltodextrin isn't such a bad idea. 90 mins exercising flat out is enough to drain your energy stores. And kids don't have much base fitness so they'll be using up their glycogen reserves fairly quickly.
But yeah, any high GI food works during exercise - a drink is quick to get during a break in play. Jelly babies are high GI just like gels/energy drink, but eventually more sickly. And slow release carbs an hour or so before the game - but the risk there is you end up with a full stomach and indigestion.
I’ve no idea if it’s a good idea to top up on refined sugar or let your body adapt?
Cycling is a bit different to football. Football is all about repeated fast sprints and for that you need glycogen and glucose. The complete opposite to cycling which is an endurance sport and where you benefit from a higher level of sustained activity.
having half portions
Oh yeah, don't mix these things full strength. Go with 1/2 or 2/3 what it says on the packet - that goes for grown ups as well as kids.
Does he drink enough (on game day, and the days before)?
We've found kids energy levels fall off a cliff shortly after sweets if they aren't well hydrated.
Having spoken to friends, apparently this is also really well known amongst triathletes.
Whatever Haibo style sweets the corner shop has on special.
“I am not a nutritional expect”
What do the coaches say? My honest answer is that running 12 year olds into the ground repeatedly isn't great for the kids, but that's not going to change. I can't see a gel being worse than a Haribo, and less likelihood dehydration
Energy gel and organised football is probably better than monster and hanging out down the park.
Pretty sensible perspective I think.
Sounds like Kryton is getting it right with his approach
Nutritionally, as long as they're not caffiene gels then there's not a huge difference between gels and normal sweets. The main advantage of gels is you can just neck them while you're on the move and don't need to stop and chew, or fiddle in your pocket with packets. Some folk find them easier to digest during intense exercise.
No doubt there'll be a few armchair nutritionists telling you what your son should/shouldn't eat during exercise but you probably just need a bit of trial and error to find what he likes and can keep him fueled. It could be bananas, mars bars or even energy gels.
When I was coached by a British Sports Council football coach at university he always fed us jelly babies at half time.
I can’t see gels would be much different as long as there’s no other rubbish in there.
I found a good dose of porridge for breakfast if a morning game or a brown rice salad for lunch if an afternoon game was good too.
@ OP I definitely think you're over-worrying. Kids need fuel. surprising amounts at times! There's nothing extraordinary about gels- they are a mixture of different types of sugar with some flavouring: exactly what someone doing intensive activity needs.
It's not a complete solution, and you/they shouldn't depend on them entirely, but I tire of the "real food is the only thing you need" mafia. Sports nutrition products can be really useful. They are a way to get some KJ, not the only way, but not inherently evil.
Having seen kids stopping off at the corner shop on the way to school and chugging pints of Monster etc - I'd much rather they did it as part of a match/race whatever. When I was playing goodish school rugby in the 90's there were boys using ephedrine. From what I hear there are a lot of steroids and growth hormones etc about now. If the worst thing he comes across is 30g of citrus glucose/fructose then I reckon you've done well.
Caveats: caffeine isn't good (or necessary) for kids, and you can get what you need from fig rolls/malt loaf etc etc but it's not as easy/fast/portable. It can be expensive, but not necessarily. I recently bought 180 short dated gels for £20 from ebay. shop around.
Pot of rice pudding an hour before the game and a gel at half time. Wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. Just a convenient means of delivering calories. Gels provide less time for sugar in the mouth and wash them down with a decent swig of electrolyte drink like nuun to aid ingestion.
I used to feed my kids chocolate bourbon biscuits. Chocolate taste without the mess. Again it’s just calories and they’re burning them off.
Interesting topic. My daughter has been supported by Voom Nutrition for a few years now. She is 15 now and its always been a balancing act of what is healthy, helpful and for youngsters what they will actually use. My daughter trains or competes 5 days per week. Probably about 10hrs per week of actual activity.
As a parent its quite a battle to weigh up what is unhealthy for them, what helps them and what is just plain hocus pocus. We have access to as much of the stuff we need but the company have been amazingly supporting without ever wanting much in return other than some feedback.
Similar to the OP my daughter also falls off a cliff with energy levels. Eats very well, understands fuelling and hydration but simply cannot get the right balances sometimes.
So out of the Voom products we were instantly told we were not to use the Caffine products. Makes sense. That left a few other items. Remember we are talking about someone who will not do anything she doesnt want or like. It doesnt matter how much benefit, if she doesnt like it, she will not have it.
Voom Pocket Rocket - Electro bar (4 cubes) - She likes them but she doesnt seem to get anything more out of them than drinking and eating properly. She always has a bar to hand in case she wants one but I think she has had the same bar in the bag for 6 months.....They are very sugary and also difficult to eat for a girl wearing braces.
Voom Protein Recovery Fudge - She doesnt actually like the texture much. So we put it in cookies and buns and it suddenly becomes a lovely treat after climbing or training. Honestly taste amazing and she is probably getting about 1/10th bar in a cookie 🙂 We cook a batch up maybe once every couple of months or so.
Voom Belgian Chocolate & vanilla recovery shake - OMG this stuff is amazing. We put the required dose in the blender and we share a milkshake so 50% each. Honestly tastes lovely and a lovely way to finish a weights session for both of us. 400ml of milk does us both so she is getting a 200ml milkshake. Once a week or so we will treat ourselves.
Voom Hydrate Smart Formula - I suppose this is the closest to the SIS go i used to use. She doesnt like it full stop. Not because of any issues, she just prefers water and i can understand it. She has the bottles etc but she only ever has water in them. I tasted it, its a lemony taste and ok for me.
Some of their other products have been tried. The Raspberry & Beetroot Endurance bar seemed to tick most of the boxes but unfortunately this was not the correct consistency for a child to use. I was a bit disappointed as i felt better with this one being less 'energy bar'. Might this one be something your lad might consider?
If any of this helps then let me know
Does he drink enough (on game day, and the days before)?
This is pretty important - you need a certain amount of water to absorb and metabolise carbohydrate. A gel on its own isn't going to do a lot, you need water with it. That's why I use drinks because it's all-in-one.
I buy plain maltodextrin powder from bulk.com as it's cheaper than anything else, and it costs less than the Robinson's I flavour it with. It tastes better than most pre-mixed drinks as well. I add electrolytes (also from bulk.com) because I'm a sweaty bugger and it keeps my heart beating regularly, but others may not need this.
Thanks for all the input.
I would says the consensus is that its a bad idea, which I tend to support.
He is 12 so already starting to know better than us, but certainly I want to try and teach him to eat healthy and drink well, rather than just reaching from 'product' solutions.
He didnt use to drink well pre match, but I think he is now starting to understand that the day before he needs to be hydrated.
The amount of carbs and protein he gets through in a week is ridiculous. We just wish we could get him to eat eggs and beans/pulces.
I vote you load him up with them and record the results on vid.
Might even get £250 from 'You've Been Framed' So well worth it.