MAINTAIN A PANDEMIC NUTRITION PLAN

Maintain a ‘normal’ diet during the pandemic The stay-at-home lifestyle of the last five months has gifted many of us with time to cook breakfast, enjoy lunch and have family dinners. Yet, many athletes are feeling confused and/or uneasy about how they are eating. Here are some tips to maintaining a “normal” diet.

BY NANCY CLARK, MS, RD

WHAT IS NORMAL EATING? To answer that question, I turn to eating authority Ellyn Satter, author of “Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family”. Here is her definition of “normal eating”:

1Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it—not stopping eating just because you think you should.

If you are “feeling hungry all the time,” you likely ARE hungry; your body is requesting more fuel. Trust it. You’ll end up eating more sooner or later, so please honor that hunger and eat more now.

2Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food.

That is, have you put yourself in food jail and banned “fun foods” like cookies, cupcakes and chips, out of fear of over-eating them? Ideally, your meal plan includes 85-90% quality foods, with 10-15% fun foods. Some “fun food” in the midst of a pandemic can be, well, fun!

3Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good.

Yes, food is a way we celebrate, mourn and entertain ourselves. Sometimes we even need a hug from food, despite being not hungry. That said, routinely overindulging in ice cream as a means to distract yourself from life’s pain will not solve any problem.

4Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way.

Most athletes require fuel at least every 3 to 4 hours. Those who “graze all day” commonly under-eat at meals. If you stop eating because you think you should, not because you are satiated, you will feel the urge to graze. Solutions: eat the rest of your breakfast calories for a mid-morning snack, eat an earlier lunch, or better yet, give yourself permission to eat enough satiating food at breakfast.

■ It’s OK for coaches and players to eat a treat like a cookie.

Eating an entire plate of cookies is not recommended.

5Normal eating is leaving cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful.

If you are banning fun foods from your house because you can’t eat just one cookie, think again. Denying yourself permission to enjoy a few cookies boosts the urge to eat the whole plateful.

6Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. If you have a hearty brunch, you will be less hungry that evening. Trust me. Rather, trust your body.

Hunger is your body’s way of telling you it has burned off what you gave it, and now it is ready for more fuel. You want to honor hunger and eat intuitively, like kids do.

7Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.

If you eat until you are satisfied, you will stop incessantly thinking about food.

CONCLUSION

MANY ATHLETES

very rigidly eat the same foods every single day. A sports nutritionist can help add variety (more nutrients), flexibility, and more joy to eating. Food can and should be one of life’s pleasures, both when training and in the midst of the pandemic.

NANCY CLARK

MS, RD, CSSD

■ Nancy Clark, MS, RD counsels both casual and competitive athletes

at her office in Newton, MA (617-795-1875). Her best selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for marathoners, cyclists and soccer players offer additional inform-ation. They are available at: http://www.NancyClarkRD.com. For her online workshop, visit: http://www.NutritionSportsExerciseCEUs.com.

Raise close to $30,000 this season with Sport Scope’s fundraising platform

Traditional fundraisers like golf scrambles and team dinners have been wiped from the 2020 calendar due to social distancing regulations, so teams will be forced to get creative to offset the loss of that revenue. Most fundraisers will be hosted online, and the most effective ones will provide a service to the potential donor.

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN, FNF COACHES EDITOR

Coaches are understandably weary of asking for donations to their programs these days with so much uncertainty surrounding the fall season and so many people struggling with the economic downturn.

However, fundraising is more important than ever due to the lost opportunities this spring and summer and the potential decline of revenue for gate receipts this fall. Fans still want to remain engaged with the program even if they aren’t able to attend games. Sport Scope will offer a platform that will serve both football programs and fans by streaming games and hosting online fundraisers.

“Live streaming is something we’ve wanted to do,” said Sport Scope CoFounder Derek Taylor. “It moved up the list due to the urgency. We realized we need a platform that will allow schools to make money, particularly this season.” f How does it work?

Sport Scope partnered with Vertical Raise to build the fundraising platform because the companies are aligned in

their belief that a team should maximize the profits from a fundraiser since the coaches and players are providing the service -- the livestream -- for the fans.

Sport Scope will set up a site with schedules, highlight reels and scores for free. Fans can then pay for premium content, including the live stream in HD quality. Sport Scope and the high school team will split the profit 50/50 for live streams of games. On the fundraising site, teams will keep 80% of all donations, with no cap on the revenue. f How much will teams make?

According to Taylor, it’s close to $30,000 in Year 1.

“Vertical Raise hosts fundraisers that average $28,000 per high school team. We help promote games for fans and drive viewers. We’re saying the average football team will likely bring in $30,000 this season.” f How do you get started?

Sport Scope is offering a $500 package to set up livestreaming -- even for teams that use other sideline replay systems like HUDL Sideline. For $500, coaches will be sent a streaming kit with a cable and instructions. If a coach is already using camcorders and/or tablets to record video, no additional equipment is needed. A coach can then opt to set up a fundraiser on the team page, and a Vertical Raise rep will make a social distanced visit to the school to provide instructions to the coach.

“It’s not a burden on teams,” Taylor said. “We are giving really rich content to fans because they’re more inclined to donate when they’re getting things out of it. We think teams will be pleasantly surprised when they receive large checks at the end of the season.”

ONLINE: SPORTSCOPE.COM SOCIAL: @SPORTSCOPEVIDEO

ADDITIONAL REVENUE STREAMS

Teams will also have the ability to add logos of advertisers to the livestream. Coaches can make deals on their own and keep 100% of the proceeds.

“We plan to build that out, and eventually, provide teams with the opportunity to sell commercials to local sponsors,” Taylor said. “We will allow teams to brand their pages with local sponsors.”

Another cool feature: The videographer streaming the game can turn on the microphone to collect crowd noise or run an ethernet cord to the broadcast booth and pick up the play-by-play of the local announcers. That way, the fans can feel like they’re in the stadium.

“It’s rich content for fans,” Taylor said. “We stream a quality picture and can even do down and distance. It’s simple for the user and has a lot of options for audio.”

THERE’S STILL A PLACE FOR TARGETED PLAY-ACTION PASSES

BY CHARLIE COINER, FIRSTDOWN PLAYBOOK

Putting together an offensive game plan can be a complicated thing. You need enough plays to keep the defense honest but certainly not so many that your players can’t execute them. There is also that delicate balance between run and pass that is at the heart of many a debate between the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator.

Any time you can find a way to tie your run game in with your passing game it is a good thing. The PlayAction pass game may be one of the more underrated weapons that exists in your offensive tool bag. It seems that some coordinators want to lean completely on the RPO game.

The play-action pass game is an easy sell with your offensive line coach for a couple of reasons. He will be quick to see that this pass is going to make his life easier the next time you call the run play. It also gives his players a chance to be more aggressive without guessing if the ball is going to be thrown or not.

Sometimes your Play-Action pass attack can be as simple as picking on one defender. Below is an example of an inside zone run play in which the offense has good numbers because the defense his playing two deep coverage. The one offensive player who has a challenging block is the F in the slot. This play will often get down to whether or not the F can make the block on the Will or Nickel Will.

As an Offensive Coordinator it is your job to help him out. If they continue to play two high to stop your passing attack then the focus can be on this one defender. If you run the football at the Will LB enough he is going to eventually begin to cheat his alignment inside towards his B gap responsibility. The more he does this the harder that block will become for the Slot.

Remember that the WLB is more than likely getting his run/pass read from the tackle through to the back. That is why it is critical that the offensive line, quarterback and running back all sell the run fake with low pad level.

The route combination that you throw behind the WLB can vary. You will notice that this pass involves using a switch release double Dig concept. The outside release of the F should not be an issue because, once again, the WLB is getting his run/pass key in the box.

The Will linebacker’s “conflict of assignment” is not just run/pass though. As he diagnoses the pass he has three eligibles running through his zone. The H pushes up and out to the flat and the double dig routes come in behind him.

So as popular as the RPO game is today there is still a place for the placation pass game. This will take some of the burden off of your quarterback’s shoulders and put it back on you the offensive coordinator.

4TH & INCHES TO WIN: WHAT’S YOUR CALL?

BY CHARLIE COINER, FIRSTDOWN PLAYBOOK It is down to one play. You are up by two points with 40 seconds to go in the game. You are on the 50 yard line. Your punter is a freshman and has never been in this situation before.

You have made your mind up to run a play. Neither team has any timeouts left so if you get the first down the game is over. If you do not they have the ball on your half of the field with a little over 30 seconds to work with.

Our Monday Morning QB question is this. You have decided to call a good old fashioned quarterback sneak and put the game on your offensive line’s shoulders. Which direction are you going to run the sneak? Are you going to run it to the shade or the 3 technique?

Now for all of you high rollers out there who are going to throw a fade for six, relax and get real for a second. This is a very real situation that could come up in a game.

We also understand that there are some offensive line coaches out there who would want to go with their bread and butter play as opposed to the sneak. For you guys, we just ask that you indulge us here and give us your input on the quarterback sneak call.

So your offensive line is in their stances and the ball is about to be snapped. Which way have you coached your quarterback and offensive line to go vs this defensive look? We give you our thoughts.

It can be very tempting as a play caller to design your quarterback sneak to hit the open A gap. However, you must always take into account that the defense is most likely going to pinch or stunt inside.

Pushing the ball right behind the double team is normally your best bet. The one thing to take into consideration is if both A gaps are covered, which is likely. In the event that you get this then we would run behind our best (away from their) best personnel.

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THEIR SLOT IS WEARING YOU OUT. HOW CAN YOU FIX IT?

BY CHARLIE COINER, FIRSTDOWN PLAYBOOK

Some teams are very talented in the passing game and they come after you on the outside with speed and dare you to match up against them. This is why 2 deep and 4 deep coverages can be a defensive coordinator’s best friend when he needs them.

There are other teams who are talented outside but where they get you is in the slot with underneath routes. We have all seen that slot receiver who has wiggle and can just get open in space. Think Wes Welker and Julian Edelman and how the Patriots wore defenses out with both.

Although you won’t have to line up against Brady, Welker or Edelman this year, everything is relative, right? What’s your answer when the opposing offense is serving up death by 1,000 cuts? They are just feeding the slot receiver on option routes.

Before we get started here let me point out that I am aware that there are many ways to bracket a talented receiver in the red zone. Trust me, I have seen it on many a Sunday.

I have also seen it blow up in a defensive coordinators face when the offense started shifting and motioning. This is why, at the high school level I would suggest that you find a very simple fix for defending this slot receiver.

You want your nickel to travel with the slot receiver regardless of if he is strong or weak. The safety to that side will work with the nickel to “in and out” or bracket the slot underneath.

Of course in this case you are going to normally just match up outside if you want to play a deep safety. That’s why it’s best to disguise this bracket until late. The QB should see two deep or quarters prior to snap.

If the slot runs vertical then the safety to that side will cover him. Remember, it’s not the deep threat that he has been hurting you with. The nickel will then settle and look to help underneath vs a shallow crosser from Z or X.

CROSS THEM UP IN THE RED ZONE

BY CHARLIE COINER, FIRSTDOWN PLAYBOOK Crossing routes can be a great weapon in your drop back passing game playbook. They offer a lot of solutions for a young quarterback or a quarterback with minimum arm strength. They are great against man coverage, because if taught correctly there will be a natural rub that occurs as the two crossers pass each other.

Obviously, good defenses will work on fighting over the top and zoning off of the crossers so it’s good to have a change up or two on your call sheet. The play below offers a couple of answers, particularly in the red zone.

The first thing it does is let your quarterback pick one side to read. If he has been throwing a lot of slant routes to a particular receiver this is probably the best place to start.

Your quarterback can go through his double move footwork with the confidence that if the corner does not bite then he still has answers. A return route is coming directly into his vision as a secondary answer. This will allow him to be deliberate and patient with his footwork and mechanics.

The same goes for the sluggo route runners as they need to sell the slant route first. The return route runners can be patient as they should not start back outside until they get to the near A gap. Read this Z-Y-H or X-F-H.