The beginning of the winter sports season is still some weeks away, but preparations for rugby and hockey are well under way, on and off the field.

One area where lots of work is being done is nutrition where, thanks to the school’s partnership with Futurelife, the 1st rugby and hockey teams and, this year, the U14A rugby and U16A hockey teams too, will be on a scientifically formulated supplementary feeding programme aimed at maximising performance.

The programme at Jeppe is coordinated by educator, Ms Kirsty Macdonald. She is a former Olympic rower who has a lot of experience in proper eating for competition, and she has a two-year post-graduate diploma in Sports and Exercise Nutrition, so she is well-qualified in the field as well.

“The underlying principle is that if an athlete is not properly fuelled, he cannot train well and will, therefore, not be able to play to the best of his ability in competition,” she explained.

“At a school like Jeppe, where the boys come from different backgrounds, and a fair proportion of them are living in hostels, we can’t be sure that they are getting the right food for optimal performance and the structure of the school day means that they are not eating regularly enough either.

The generosity of the Futurelife sponsorship means that nutritional products are available and Ms Macdonald can formulate protocols to address those shortfalls. She is the central point for the distribution of the products supplied, which include cereals and shakes, as well as high protein and high energy sachets and bars.

“All those products have been extensively tested and are safe for use by growing teenagers,” she said. “My job is to make sure that the players get the right food at the right time. This will give them the energy to train and play optimally, and to recover quickly after strenuous exercise.”

Apart from pre and post-match nutrition, during the long hours between meals, the players can receive Futurelife snacks to keep them going

Ms Macdonald works closely with the 1st rugby team and Mr Smit and Mr Hillock are responsible for the hockey teams.

“The Rugby and Hockey Patrons Associations also play an important role. They supply pre-match meals on game days and help us with the buying of re-hydration products, which are also very important,” she said.

“The junior teams are on a similar, but reduced programme as the 1st teams. Selection is not as stable at that level as it is with the firsts, so we will follow a different protocol.”

There is no question that proper nutrition played a significant part in the good seasons that the Jeppe 1st hockey and rugby teams had last year. We are looking forward to seeing how the U16A hockey and U14A rugby teams do this year, now that they are also part of the Futurelife programme.