Fueling Young Athletes

Young athletes are always on the go. School, family, and sports eat up a lot of time. For parents and coaches, it can be a challenge to make sure kids are eating healthfully enough to perform at their best on and off the field. Fueling Young Athletes provides the help you need.

In this practical guide, Heather Mangieri—a sport dietitian and mother of three active kids—breaks down the nutrition needs of young athletes and explains what the latest research suggests. You’ll analyze current eating habits and preferences and how and where these can be improved. You’ll learn how healthier meals and snacks can equate to improved performance while still being convenient and appetizing.

Fueling Young Athletes addresses the issues that families and athletes most often face, such as late-night practices, inconvenient school lunchtimes, demanding tournament schedules and travel leagues, and lack of sleep. Best of all, you’ll find a collection of easy recipes for smoothies and sport drinks, all with common ingredients and nutrition information.

Weight management, supplementation, fueling, hydration—it’s all here. Fueling Young Athletes is practical and realistic. If you are a parent or coach, it’s the one guide you should not be without.

Heather Mangieri, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN, is an award-winning food and nutrition expert, registered dietitian, and board-certified specialist in sport dietetics. She is the founder of Nutrition CheckUp, a nutrition consulting practice with expertise in sport nutrition, weight management, and disordered eating. She consults with a variety of clients, including casual exercisers, competitive athletes, and families looking to eat well while navigating busy schedules. She specializes in helping active adolescents eat well for proper growth, development, and sport performance.

Since 2010 Mangieri has been a national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She has built a reputation for delivering evidence-based messages in sport nutrition, adolescent sport nutrition, weight management, ergogenic aids, dietary supplements, fad diets, and lifestyle modification. Mangieri frequently writes about sport nutrition, including in the professional publications of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as in Stack magazine and Food and Nutrition magazine. She has been quoted in hundreds of national publications, including Fitness, ESPNW, ESPN Kids, Runner’s World, Women’s Running, Women’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. In addition to national recognition, she has a strong local following, appearing frequently on KDKA Pittsburgh’s show Night Talk.

Mangieri speaks regularly to athletes, consumers, and professionals about sport nutrition, dietary supplements, weight management, and disordered eating. In June 2014 she spoke on disordered eating in athletes at the first Eating Disorders in Sport conference and spoke on the same topic at the 2015 annual meeting of the Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association.

In 2008 Mangieri was recognized as Pennsylvania’s Young Dietitian of the Year. In 2012 she received the Keystone award in recognition of her leadership in demonstrating outstanding professional standards to serve and advance the aim of Pennsylvania dietitians. She serves on the executive committee of Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN), a dietary practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Mangieri studied human nutrition with an emphasis on research at Pennsylvania State University, earning a BS degree in 1996. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in wellness and human performance in 2007. Before entering private practice, she was an instructor at the University of Pittsburgh in the department of sports medicine and nutrition and a part-time faculty member in the department of exercise science at Chatham University, teaching nutrition and exercise classes to undergraduate students.

She lives in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

"Fueling young athletes is certainly a topic that deserves more attention from parents and coaches alike. Too many kids endure needless fatigue. Don't let your child be one of them!"

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD-- Author of best-selling Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Fifth Edition

“Heather Mangieri excels at helping athletes, parents, and coaches understand the healthy habits that allow young athletes to succeed and perform at their best.”

Donald Hooton Sr. -- Founder and President, Taylor Hooton Foundation

“Heather Mangieri is not only a sport nutrition expert, but she’s also a parent of active kids. She knows how challenging it can be to eat right when managing crazy schedules, multiple practices, and travel. She shares her extensive experience here through practical, realistic nutrition guidance that every athlete and parent can use.”

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, CSSD-- Author of The Flexitarian Diet (McGraw Hill), Winner of ABC hit TV show My Diet Is Better Than Yours