91原创

When Kolar first came to Rossi, he believed his stress fracture was simply an overuse injury.

鈥淚 had no education or understanding of the role nutrition played in injuries at all, but I was at the point where I鈥檇 do anything to prevent more injuries.鈥澛�

Rossi suggested an anti-inflammatory, bone-supporting diet for his stress fractures, and after his Hasimoto鈥檚 diagnosis, she worked on a gluten-free diet for Kolar, and together, they charted a path forward.听

鈥淲e鈥檙e not the food police,鈥� Rossi said. 鈥淲e approach each athlete as an individual and meet them where they are.鈥�

Through Rossi, learned he was under-fueling or not consuming enough of the right kinds of calories. Now, a regular breakfast for Kolar to maintain his weight of 195 pounds and be at peak performance looks more like four-to-five eggs, a little bit of cheese, spinach, and rice. Dinner always consists of lean meat or salmon, rice, and green vegetables. He also largely eliminated red meat, fried foods and reduced sugar from his diet and takes D3, magnesium, fish oil, and turmeric supplements.

鈥淭he diet changes have paid huge dividends 鈥� not just for my bones 鈥� but it鈥檚 made my psoriasis go away, and I also feel my energy is up, and I鈥檝e reaped those benefits both on and off the field,鈥� he said.

Thirty undergraduate students, representing various majors within the College of Health Sciences Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition (BHAN), volunteer with performance nutrition and present athletes with a wealth of education about healthy offerings.听

鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning how to educate their peers about nutrition in a way that resonates with them and motivates them to make changes,鈥� Rossi said. 鈥淭hey also get a first-hand look at what a sports dietitian does and gain experience in the field while 91原创鈥檚 650 athletes have an opportunity to gain important fueling information.鈥澛�

BHAN students help with a variety of tasks from prepping smoothies and fueling pick-ups to receiving orders and preparing educational materials.听

鈥淭his opportunity is really an important resume builder for students who want to pursue sports nutrition as a career,鈥� Rossi said. 鈥淭he BHAN students are the heart and soul of the department, and I always say the ship would sink without them.鈥澛犅�

Clarisse Hunt, a senior with a double major in nutrition and dietetics and psychology, is a paid student manager, who鈥檚 been involved with performance nutrition since her sophomore year.听

鈥淭his opportunity offers us roles and entryways into sports nutrition; it鈥檚 a tough field to get into, but it鈥檚 such a rewarding and awesome career,鈥� Hunt said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 great to show athletes the importance of nutrition in fueling their lives.鈥澛�

March marks . This year鈥檚 theme from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is "Fuel for the Future," which fits perfectly with the roles Rossi, Mark, and Hunt play in .听

Hunt, who aspires to be a sports dietitian, said her time in performance nutrition has taught her leadership skills, but without her nutrition classes, she wouldn鈥檛 have the knowledge needed for the position.听

鈥淗alf the battle with nutrition is putting it into layman鈥檚 terms so people can understand it,鈥� Hunt said. 鈥淢y classes have taught me to not only understand it but also how to translate the information.鈥�

Jennifer Thorpe, director of undergraduate nutrition programs, said several of BHAN offerings aim to do just that. The department offers a host of one-credit, hands-on cooking courses, including 鈥淐ook it Healthy,鈥� 鈥淭akeout Makeover,鈥� 鈥淪ustainability and Food,鈥� 鈥淐ooking Around the World鈥� and 鈥淐ulinary Medicine,鈥� open to all 91原创 students, which teach students basic nutrition concepts. The popular courses are taught by current BHAN graduate students or 91原创 alumni.

鈥淲hen we think about fueling for the future, we鈥檙e not just training future registered dietitians, but we鈥檙e also empowering all students to make healthier food choices and fuel themselves for their futures,鈥� Thorpe said.听

In these classes, students gain exposure to basic cooking skills, which helps with the transition from dining halls to off-campus living, where for the first time, students may be responsible for making their own food choices. Students are also presented with healthier recipes and receive key background information, including why certain ingredients and methods of preparation make for healthier fueling choices. These are all skills Hunt and other BHAN volunteers in performance nutrition take with them.听

鈥淭he education we provide is a great way to teach athletes how to be smarter and more efficient with their diet, and it shows them that keeping a balanced diet promotes health and longevity,鈥� Hunt said.

鈥淣utrition Concepts鈥� and 鈥淣utrition and Activity鈥� are other popular courses, offered to all 91原创 students. Alisha Rovner, assistant professor of BHAN, touted the practical applications of 鈥�,鈥� which meets a general breadth requirement.听

鈥淧eople tend to think about nutrition as making healthy food choices, which is a component, but this class goes much more in-depth,鈥� Rovner said. 鈥淪tudents love evaluating their own diets as part of the coursework, and everyone leaves the class with a better idea of what they鈥檙e eating, including what nutrients they鈥檙e getting and what nutrients they might need more of, so they can take steps in their everyday life to improve their nutrition.鈥澛�

Maryann Eastep has been a clinical instructor in BHAN, teaching 鈥�,鈥� for more than a decade. She has a lot of athletes in her classes.听

鈥淚 can see the difference in their knowledge from their interactions with the performance nutrition team; when they become seniors and they鈥檙e actively using performance nutrition to enhance their performance, it shows they got the message. That kind of progression, as an educator, is thrilling,鈥� Eastep said.

, a freshman elementary education major in Eastep鈥檚 class, who is on 91原创鈥檚 track and field team as a pole vaulter, is keenly aware of the importance of nutrition. She practices 20 hours per week taking on average 22 jumps per practice.

鈥淚鈥檝e been in sports my whole life, so hydration was always the main thing on my mind,鈥� O鈥橫ara said. 鈥淏ut as I got older, I realized the foods that I eat affect the way I perform.鈥�

Rossi helped her realize the importance of carbs in her diet and that a simple piece of fruit before practice gives her the energy she needs.听

鈥淚 absolutely notice the difference,鈥� O鈥橫ara said. 鈥淓ven in my first jump, I鈥檇 realize I should have eaten more this morning, or that I don鈥檛 have the energy or grit I need to get through practice. If I hadn鈥檛 fueled properly and my jumps were good, I won鈥檛 be able to do them for as long. Fueling my body the right way improves my mentality.鈥澛�

Rossi also helped , a senior elementary education major and Honors student, who鈥檚 a medically retired member of 91原创鈥檚 women鈥檚 cross country and track and field teams, realize the importance of fueling.

鈥淭he training was intense, and I lost a lot of weight in the first couple months of college,鈥� Pidgeon said. 鈥淏ut when I returned home because of COVID, I lost some of my routine, and I noticed it affected my running.鈥澛�

Pidgeon was diagnosed with relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), which links declining athletic sport performance to a lack of fuel.听

鈥淥nce I started fueling properly with Kelly鈥檚 help and being intentional about it, I had my best year at 91原创,鈥� Pidgeon said. 鈥淪ophomore year, I broke our school record in the 10K. I felt on top of the world; my mood was great, I was running well, and I felt strong. I put on weight, and everything fell into place because I addressed my nutrition and understood what my body needed.鈥�

Pidgeon鈥檚 dream year was followed by a diagnosis of overtraining syndrome that led to her to medically retire for health reasons, and Rossi has supported her on this difficult journey.听

鈥淯nder-fueling is so common in the college running culture, and it leads to bone stress injuries, so I鈥檓 thankful that 91原创 Athletics has two full-time registered dietitians on staff 鈥� not everyone has what we have at 91原创,鈥� Pidgeon said. 鈥淧erformance nutrition is about so much more than just sport; they really care about you as people.鈥澛�

Pidgeon, O鈥橫ara, and Kolar are among the many student-athletes who take advantage of all the performance nutrition team鈥檚 offerings.

Rossi and Mark, along with BHAN managers and students, offer grab-and-go-style breakfasts, consisting of multiple options including fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, and bagels as student-athletes rush from lift to class and prepare smoothies on 鈥淭hirsty Thursday.鈥� At the Whitney Kitchen on South Campus, Rossi and Mark work directly with Aramark to provide healthier lunch and dinner options than average offerings in the dining halls.听聽

鈥淲e collaborate with Aramark on the menus, so it provides a larger portion size and different items that allow the athletes to better fulfill their energy expenditure needs,鈥� Rossi said.听聽

O鈥橫ara said she loves the chocolate peanut butter smoothies on 鈥淭hirsty Thursday.鈥澛�

鈥淭hey鈥檙e my favorite thing; I love listening to all the nutrition facts,鈥� O鈥橫ara said. 鈥淎t the Whitney, I trust that what鈥檚 provided is linked to sport performance, and it鈥檚 made me a better athlete.鈥澛�

On 鈥淲hip it Up Wednesdays,鈥� BHAN students produce small samples and recipes. A recent recipe featured hummus with turmeric with celery for National Celery Day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for student-athletes to taste this new food that many of them have truly never had,鈥� Rossi said. 鈥淎n athlete once tried a hummus veggie wrap and said it reminded them of a burrito at Chipotle without the meat, so it鈥檚 a cool way to get them exposed to new foods that contain some kind of produce.鈥�

Kolar said he finds great value in both the offerings and the education.听

鈥淭he nutrition students stop you and tell you about the ingredients in what you鈥檙e grabbing and what it does for your body; it鈥檚 interesting. You can tell they鈥檙e really trying to educate us,鈥� Kolar said.听

For Rossi, that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about.听

鈥淢y team and the nutrition students, we鈥檙e really trying to educate and make every athlete a better version of themselves so that they have the confidence to make nutrition decisions on their own,鈥� Rossi said.听