Aug 27, 2015Marshall Calls On Community For Athlete Fueling
Since the 2014 NCAA deregulation of feeding for student-athletes, many schools have jumped to create or enhance their nutrition programs. But for schools that don’t have the money to offer a robust program to their athletes, the change in rules can frustrate as much as liberate. Marshall University is finding a way to provide for its athletes by engaging with the Huntington community.
As reported by The Herald-Dispatch, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Scott Sinclair is heading up the effort, which is called “Herd Nutrition.” Sinclair says the current nutrition their student-athletes get is less than ideal.
“The guys and girls don’t eat like they should, so if we can put nutritious things in their bodies and fuel them for practice and competition, it’s only going to make them better on the field,” Sinclair said. “That’s half the battle. Everyone has dreams of going to the next level, but if you want to go to the next level, you have to fix that part of it.”
Sinclair has partnered with Jeremy Mullins, a Marshall alumnus and dietician who owns a coffee shop and health food store in downtown Huntington. The two have met to devise a better meal plan for athletes and have provided seminars for athletes on healthy eating. Mullins and his business also donate food, bread, and bagels every week to the university, and he is soliciting others to do the same.
“If we can continue that and people want to jump in and donate, then it’s only going to help the kids because it’s going directly to them,” Sinclair said. “As more people hear about it, we hope they want to help. And if they want to see their money go directly to student-athlete welfare, that’s a great way to do it.”
Sinclair also hopes that with the help of the community, Marshall can begin to close the gap between their school and institutions with more resources.
“We visited Ohio State in the summer and they have ‘nutrition islands’ that are almost like unmanned kiosks in which they swipe their card and they can get a Gatorade bar or something like that,” Sinclair said. “Obviously, we can’t do that, but if we can get people to help with that aspect of the program, it’s a big benefit to keeping us ahead of the game.”