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Balancing life with sports and school while keeping a healthy lifestyle can be difficult...

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Balancing life with sports and school while keeping a healthy lifestyle can be difficult...

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But, with the right attitude and a little bit of effort, it is possible!

Here is a link to a website with tips on how to have a healthier lifestyle:

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Innovative Family Practice & Direct Primary Care Clinics Colorado

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We all know the saying, "practice makes perfect." Becoming a successful athlete requires polishing your craft and ensuring your body is up to the challenge. For high school athletes who want to take their performance to the next level, developing healthy habits is crucial in keeping them energized, attentive and performing at their peak. Craig Kilpatrick, M.D. from our PeakMed LifeCenter in Englewood, Colo. introduces us to some healthy habits for your high schooler.

We all know the saying, "practice makes perfect." Becoming a successful athlete requires polishing your craft and ensuring your body is up to the challenge. For high school athletes who want to take their performance to the next level, developing healthy habits is crucial in keeping them energized, attentive and performing at their peak. Craig Kilpatrick, M.D. from our PeakMed LifeCenter in Englewood, Colo. introduces us to some healthy habits for your high schooler.

STAY HYDRATED

Hydration is essential for our bodies to operate optimally during the athletic season. Water helps with digestion, temperature regulation, cellular regeneration, toxin elimination, and provides a moist environment for your throat and nose. Recommended water intake depends on factors such as age and gender. To stay hydrated, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommend the following daily water intake:

Exercise that causes perspiration requires an extra 12-20 fluid ounces per day. Add an additional 8 fluid ounces for athletes training at altitudes more than 5,000 feet. In general, your athlete is safely hydrated if their urine is colorless or lightly yellow and they rarely feel thirsty.

NOURISHING NUTRITION

Nutrition is what fuels performance leading to wins, state championships and even college scholarships. As such, proper nutrition is essential to growing athletes. Healthy eating habits include a variety of vegetables (dark green, red and orange), fruits, fat-free or low-fat dairy products and proteins (lean meats, eggs, beans, soy products, nuts and seeds). Less than 10 percent of your caloric intake should come from added sugars and saturated fats, so avoid those. The calorie needs for active young athletes is as follows:

GENDER

AGE RANGE

CALORIES/DAY

DAILY PROTEIN (GRAMS)

DAILY FIBER (GRAMS)

DAILY CARBOHYDRATES (GRAMS)

Ensuring a proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals is essential to the overall health of a high school athlete, their muscle development and performance.

PREVENT INJURIES

Teenage athletes are usually still growing, which makes them more susceptible to injury. As such, your young athlete should receive a pre-participation physical exam to screen for musculoskeletal and medical conditions.

Once the physical is complete, the athlete needs to look at injury prevention during the season. Here are a few things to look for:

Ensure equipment fits.
Gear, such as helmets, cleats or running shoes that fit properly, minimize the potential for injury.

Pre-game warmups.
Athletes should gradually "warm up" by slowly bringing their heart rate up with low-impact exercises, such as jogging in place or jumping jacks.

Actively stretch.
Stretching releases muscle tension, helping protect against injury. Experts recommend a good stretch goes just beyond the point of resistance and should NOT involve bouncing. Stretches should be held for 10-12 seconds. Ample recovery time.
Do not increase activity, weight, mileage or pace by more than 10 percent per week.

Cool down.
Following a workout, athletes should cool down and repeat the stretching exercises. To prevent injuries resulting from overuse, obtain instruction on proper training and technique from a coach/athletic trainer. Additionally, athletes who play sports year round are more likely to develop overuse injuries and may want to take one season off per year.

BE A STUDENT-ATHLETE, NOT AN ATHLETE FIRST, STUDENT SECOND

While the perception of the "dumb jock" has existed for decades, researchers at the University of Kansas recently found that children and teens who participate in athletics are actually more likely to do well in academics.

Get your high school athlete a daily planner to record important school and sports dates. Ensure they're writing down important due dates for schoolwork, projects, tests and papers, giving school a priority over sports. Encourage your young athlete to not procrastinate. Make sure they take advantage of their weekends, free periods and study halls to get ahead. Look into school resources like, study groups or tutors if your child is still struggling.

MANAGE STRESS

Participating in high school sports can be stressful. Balancing practice, competition, school and other social activities, adds to the pressure of high school. Inadequately managed stress can lead to anxiety, withdrawal, aggression, physical illness or poor coping skills, such as drug and/or alcohol use. Medical experts recommend reducing stress levels by:

Eating a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly.

Avoiding caffeine, which can worsen anxiety and agitation.

Practicing relaxation techniques such as deep-breathing exercises and meditation.

Taking a break from stress by listening to music, talking to a friend, drawing, writing, or spending time with a pet.

Learning to feel good about doing a 'good enough' job rather than demanding perfection from yourself.

Getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night.

In the end, it's important to realize that your high school athlete is still a kid, and being a kid should be fun. Strict rules and depriving your high school athlete of certain foods or activities is not a productive way to develop healthy habits. Instead, teach your student-athlete about the importance of nutrition, not just for performance, but health in general, but also allow them to be kids, too.

If your young athlete implements these habits into their routine, they'll see significant improvement in their performance and be encouraged to continue putting these habits into practice. These healthy habits will help fuel your high school athlete through their next practice, game and throughout the rest of their life.

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Five Healthy Habits for High School Athletes - PeakMed.com

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Advice on how to keep your high school student healthy this sports season.

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Obviously, you want your body to be in the best shape it can be in. So, be sure to:

-Get 8-10 hours of sleep every night

-Properly warm up before games to prevent injury

-Try to stick to a consistent schedule and form a routine

Here are some stretches you can do before a game or practice:

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As stated previously, a schedule is very important to help you in school. Taking a specific time to study is a great way to help improve your grades. You could try to use other people in your class as a resource as well to try and help each other learn and become better students

Here are some tips to have better studying habits:

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Dealing with trying to balance out your social life with school and athletics can be very challenging. However, if you can manage your time properly and (again), make a schedule to help manage everything, you will find yourself to be much happier and less stressed out. Here is a link with some tips on how to do so:

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Depending on your college sport and the NCAA division associated with your school, you'll most likely spend a considerable amount of time practicing, traveling and competing with your team. If you're considering a Division III institution, like North Central College in Naperville, Ill., your academic studies will receive a high priority, alongside your athletic participation. One of the key statements of NCAA Division III college athletics philosophy is this: "Assure that student-athletes are supported in their efforts to meaningfully participate in nonathletic pursuits to enhance their overall educational experience."

"The biggest challenge will be prioritizing your time," said James Kluckhohn, assistant director in the athletics department at North Central College. "That means determining what is important to you and not getting distracted and spending time-at least too much-on things that are not among your priorities."

As you visit schools as a high school athlete, ask your future head coach during the recruiting process about their commitment to academic support and how to be a successful student athlete.

Master your schedule

Work in advance as much as you can.

Don't over commit.

Get to know your professors.

Connect with a mentor.

Make use of the academic resources provided by your college or university.

Pay attention to your physical health.

Laura Zahn Pohl is an editorial director in higher education, with 18 years of experience as a content writer, publications editor and speechwriter. An honors graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism, her experience includes corporate communications and freelance reporting for the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald and Kalamazoo Gazette.

Sources:

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Time management is key for any student-athlete. Here are some tips on how to manage time as a student-athlete.

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It can be very stressful trying to manage your time to be able to do things like hanging out with your friends. However, if you follow some of the tips in the previous links, you'll be able to do so without a problem!

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With the amount of potential stress you may get due to such a busy work schedule, it is important to keep an important balance of everything around you.

There should be time for friends, family, school work, and studying. However, you should also make time for yourself to relax and decompress from a stressful day or week.

As stated in the previous sections, it is extremely important to be able to have a good grasp on the things around you as far as work, athletics, school, and a social life. Something as simple as having one could make a huge impact of your productivity in school and sports.