Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 5 | May 2020

16 Inside Hokie Sports MartinTravel.com I info@martintravel.com I 540-343-5400 ©2020 AAA Club Alliance Inc. 19_637240 WE’VE BEEN THERE Martin gives you the stuff you can’t get from a travel app. Let your travel destination insider add a personal touch to your next getaway. W H O T R E A T S Y O U L E S S L I K E A T O U R I S T A N D M O R E L I K E A N E S C A P E A R T I S T ? MARTIN DOES TR_AD_19_637240_Martin Travel Hokie Sports (Feb/Apr) Ad_PD1_1.indd 2 1/22/20 3:37 PM vthokiescamp; Twitter: @VThokiesCAMP) and encourages them to follow those accounts for the latest in regards to mental health. THE NUTRITION GAME The student-athletes at Tech probably miss the accessibility to food more than anything else while they spend their days quarantined in their hometowns or Blacksburg residences. After all, Tech features award- winning dining halls, and Tech’s nutrition staff, under the direction of Alyson Onyon, coordinates a limited number of meals for student- athletes through local restaurants throughout the academic year. Also, the staff runs the Nutrition Oasis, which serves as a gathering place for student-athletes to eat basically an unlimited of snacks—things like granola bars, fruits, Greek yogurt, and smoothies that typically are used for fueling one’s body. In addition, staff members meet individually with student-athletes about nutritional issues, hold team “talks” about nutritional issues, put together cooking sessions, and go with student-athletes on grocery store trips. But the pandemic forced the staff to change its approach. “Our focus is helping our athletes navigate their nutrition through this pandemic, and we know this time period is hard for our athletes,” Onyon said. “It is our goal to educate and communicate as much as we can virtually for our athletes, keeping nutrition a part of their daily lives, while also being that positive resource for them during this tough time.” Onyon and her staff offer the same services as before—help, counseling sessions, guidance on grocery shopping, and any questions that may come up. But as with those in the other support areas, they extensively use Zoom, Skype and FaceTime to carry on most of these conversations. Onyon and her staff also have gotten creative on social media, using those platforms as a means of educating. The @Hokie_Fuel Instagram account features tips on sleep, hydration, recipes for both meals and snacks, how to fuel on a budget, and how to cook certain foods and recipes at home with the resources that student-athletes have available. Also, every Friday, they serve as the hosts of a live webinar through Zoom and an average of approximately 40 student-athletes take advantage. Topics include how to grocery shop, how to fuel their bodies while on a budget, intuitive eating, and creating sport foods at home. Onyon sends the recordings and slides of the presentation to those unable to log in because of class scheduling conflicts. “We are consistently communicating with our student athletes, making sure they know that we are here for them,” Onyon said. “We’re helping them plan out their new routine, confirming they are prepared with food to stay home as much as possible, grocery shopping/ restaurant guidance, teaching them how to cook new recipes, and helping them stay prepared to start their sport up again when given the OK.” Being at home has forced numerous student-athletes to take more of an ownership in their nutrition. Onyon and her staff constantly reinforce putting together a grocery shopping plan—one that calls determining meals in advance and for buying enough food for meals for two weeks to limit potential exposure to the coronavirus. They encourage student-athletes to buy foods that have a longer shelf life and to learn to cook different things. The nutrition staff also has helped thosewho remained inBlacksburg. On March 20, the staff handed out protein shakes, Gatorade, bagels and other snacks, and they followed that with another handout April 22 that consistent of protein shakes and Gatorade thirst quenchers (following all social distancing protocols while distributing). Looking ahead, Onyon expresses concern over making sure that student-athletes are properly fueled and at their preferred weights for when they do return to competition. She and her staff educate and offer advice, but as others have stated, that isn’t the same as having student- athletes swinging by every day. In short, uncertainty over what the future looks like has become a shared concern among all sport support areas. “All of the disciplines—nutrition, strength, sports med, and psych are doing a great job of educating and getting the resources that they can to our athletes,” Onyon said. “However, I think everyone would agree that it isn’t the same as the athletes being here on campus and having all of these resources physically available to them.” HASN’T STOPPED WORK Continued from page 15