Sports Nutrition - Cricket - Endurance - Ultraendurance - Christchurch

“Lea has worked for many years with NZ cricket Academy since its formation in 1996. Over the past seven years she has developed an extensive knowledge of our sport and has provided invaluable information that should enhance the performances of our athletes in the future. She has provided written information for the wider cricket community, assisted our live-in athletes with practical sessions on food values and on how to purchase and prepare ingredients for quality meals, she has undertaken thorough assessments of each individual attending the Academy and implemented appropriate programmes when required, and she has taught the athletes about the influence of fluids on performance and the pitfalls of travel. Her input into the Academy programme has been invaluable.” -Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand Cricket Academy

Lea has worked for the past seven years with New Zealand cricket during which time she has taught at the Cricket Academy at Lincoln University, assisted the Black Caps and White Ferns teams, provided educational sessions to developing squads and umpires and has written a nutrition manual for coaches.

Lea would like to develop the cricket nutrition section of her website to help cricket players, their coaches and parents to gain a broader understanding of how nutrition can aid player performance. You can assist this development process by sending in any nutrition questions that you may have.

Why healthy eating is essential to the game:

Better Performance
Performing well in cricket depends on number of factors. Along with the right mix of technical skills, natural talent, physiology, psychological training and injury prevention nutrition is emerging as a key issue to give players the winning edge.
Fuel for Body and Brain
With careful planning, good nutrition will sustain the energy levels for each player in your team, irrespective of the environmental conditions at the time or the length of play. There is also good evidence that adequate nutrition will improve mental functioning such as hand: eye co-ordination, concentration and decision making abilities during play.
Long-term Health and Wealth
Key nutrients have a protective function in the body, strengthening muscle, bone and soft tissue. Healthy eating can reduce the risk factors in later life that are associated with the development of major diseases such as coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes mellitus and obesity. If players want to keep active and earning- this is important.
Players Needs Vary
Cricket is a unique sport in that within a team players may have very different nutritional needs. While the batsman may need muscle strength they also, like the bowlers, require available energy to fuel exercising muscle and explosions of speed between wickets. Wicket keepers, on the other hand, require stable blood sugars and high levels of concentration and like other team members are dependent on adequate hydration to reduce fatigue.
Good nutrition reduces stress
While nutrition science is advancing at great pace, achieving dietary goals can prove challenging when individual players are faced with the stress of play, touring, meals away from home and peer pressures. Added to this each player has their own personal likes, dislikes and beliefs regarding certain foods as well as some prior knowledge about nutrition which they may have gleaned from magazines, television or advertising.
Proper coaching can make all the difference
Cricket coaches are a front line person who should never under estimate the affect that their healthy nutrition messages can have on players performance not only helping them to maximise the benefit from hours of training and skill development but also to benefit their long-term health and well-being.

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