Now you know the story. Now you understand the mission and vision. (And if you don’t, check out Issue #001.)

Starting now, we're diving into the research, lessons, and ideas that completely changed the way I think about health, performance, and female athlete longevity.

As part of the NSCA Personal Training Certification, I joined the NSCA members-only research library, and I recently came across a research paper from October 2025 about Energy Availability and Fatigue in female soccer players. Reading it brought me right back to my own experience.

When I was a freshman in high school, I was playing two sports with back-to-back practices. There were days when I would go from 2:30 to 7:30 eating little more than a small bowl of plain pasta and half of an energy bar.

I thought that was normal. I thought being exhausted all the time was normal. I thought crashing during practices and lifts was normal. I didn't know any different. Years later, I would learn that what I was experiencing was Low Energy Availability (LEA). And I know I’m not alone.

Low Energy Availability, as examined in the paper, was one of the major focuses of the live Stronger. Faster. Fueled. event, so I’ll give a quick explanation for those who may be unfamiliar. Energy availability is the difference between the amount of energy we expend in our daily activities and the amount of energy we consume through food. When an athlete is experiencing Low Energy Availability, it means their energy expenditure is greater than the amount of fuel they are consuming. Essentially, their body is an engine running without enough fuel to power performance and both short- and long-term health.

Chronic LEA can impair recovery and physical resilience, increasing an athlete's risk of illness, injury, and underperformance (Martin & Hartman, 2025). LEA affects bone health, cardiovascular health, hormonal function, recovery, and glycogen stores. In fact, research has shown that 70% of adolescent athletes with LEA have low bone mineral density, making them more vulnerable to fractures and joint instability (Barrack et al., 2023). LEA can also contribute to burnout through increased central nervous system fatigue (Martin & Hartman, 2025).

So clearly, we need to do something about this. And we need to start as early as possible. Because the habits, systems, and bone growth we establish as adolescents have consequences that extend far beyond high school sports.

But here’s the part of the paper that made me stop.

According to the authors: "Knowledge is not enough; teams must provide tangible support to facilitate healthy fueling behaviors" (Martin & Hartman, 2025).

I read that sentence and immediately thought: Yes. That’s it. That’s exactly what’s missing.

At the Stronger. Faster. Fueled. event, we talked about the importance of coaches in preventing Low Energy Availability. This is where that conversation comes to life.

And honestly, I think it has the potential to revolutionize the way we design sports teams from elementary school all the way to the professional level.

Nutrition has to become part of practice. Not something we do on the side. Not something athletes are expected to figure out on their own. Part of practice.

Think about it.

When you join a sports team, you don’t expect to walk into practice and hear a coach say: "We do all of our practices at home. Make sure you get a good workout in, think about doing some speed work, and maybe throw in some tempo runs occasionally." You’d be completely confused. You would probably leave the team. Because everyone understands that training is too important to leave entirely up to the athlete.

Yet this is exactly how we treat nutrition.

We tell athletes that fueling matters. We give general advice. Then we send them home and hope they figure it out.

Nutrition is one of the most important performance variables we have, and yet we often treat it like optional homework.

The solution?

Fueling becomes part of practice. Maybe it’s a team huddle with a protein bar and a banana before training. Maybe it’s chocolate milk and a recovery snack during a cooldown conversation afterward. Maybe it’s simply creating a routine where every athlete fuels together. At higher levels, those systems can be individualized by sports dietitians and nutrition professionals. But the principle remains the same: Fueling must be built into the team culture. Because nutrition impacts performance just as much as what we do in the weight room, on the track, on the field, on the pitch, or anywhere we train.

And culture matters.

You spend an enormous amount of time with your teammates. In healthy team environments, those people become some of your closest friends. And when the people around you consistently do something, you become more likely to do it too. Research has consistently shown that our behaviors are heavily influenced by the people around us (NIH, 2021).

When your team normalizes proper fueling, athletes are more likely to prioritize nutrition. When your team normalizes recovery, athletes are more likely to prioritize recovery. When your team prioritizes performance over appearance, athletes begin making decisions that support long-term health rather than short-term aesthetics.

This is how we break the cycle of underfueling. We make proper fueling part of the identity of high-performing teams.

Recovery matters here too.

Just like fueling should be built into team culture, recovery should be as well. Because the environment we create within teams shapes how athletes think about nutrition, menstrual health, recovery, and performance for the rest of their lives.

One of my favorite parts of the paper on Energy Availability and Fatigue in Female Soccer was a "Strength and Conditioning Coach's Checklist to Avoid LEA." Honestly, I looked at it and audibly said: "Wow." To me, it wasn’t just a checklist. It was a vision of what sports teams could look like if we truly prioritized the health and performance of female athletes.

And as I read through it, I couldn’t stop thinking that this is what I needed as a freshman. This is what I needed when I was eating half an energy bar before hours of practice. This is what I needed when I could feel myself crashing during workouts and didn’t know why. This is what I needed before I was diagnosed with grade 3 tibial stress reactions that eventually cut my season short. And now we have the opportunity to create something better.

We can build systems that support athletes before they get hurt. Before they burn out. Before they start believing fatigue is normal.

Pre-practice ideas:

Post-practice ideas:

If you're a coach:

Make this checklist your playbook. Build fueling into the culture of your team.

If you're an athlete:

Your nutrition is a game changer, so treat it like one. Fueling well can improve energy, recovery, performance, health, and resilience. It’s almost magical.

If you're a parent:

Help make fueling easier. The habits established during adolescence often become the habits athletes carry for life.

And for everyone:

Start the conversation.

Because a well-fueled athlete is stronger, faster, healthier, and more resilient.

And that's exactly the future we're trying to build.

See you next week.

References