Adolescent runners are still growing and developing, and it’s critical to support their growth with nutrition that promotes bone health, muscle development, brain health and cognitive development, said Michele Pettinger. a certified fitness and nutrition specialist and the author of The Young Runner’s Guide to Nutrition.
Pettinger discusses how parents can help these athletes understand why they need specific nutrients and how fueling their body now is going to affect their overall health and well-being into adulthood. She also addresses body image challenges for runners.
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THE FOCUSED SPORTS KID (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)
“The Focused Sports Kid” helps sports kids who get easily distracted and can’t maintain their focus in competition. In this program, you and your athlete learn concentration-boosting strategies to help young athletes develop laser focus during competition. “The Focused Sports Kid” is two programs in one. You get a manual and Audio program for parents/coaches, and a PDF workbook and audio programs for young athletes.
“We just completed the first ten tips, it has helped tremendously for (our daughter) and us. We’ve learned to keep our behavior and comments in check. She’s letting mistakes happen and not worrying about them, she’s now just moves on to the next play with the same attitude as before the mistakes. She’s playing more aggressively all game. Her coach even mentioned that whatever we are doing, keep doing because it’s working.” ~Scott, Sports Dad
Nutritional Recommendations for the Young Athletes
Last Updated on August 18, 2025 by Patrick Cohn
