Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

AAU basketball nutrition plan

18 Apr 2025 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:06

In this instructional video, the speaker addresses AAU basketball players—both female and male—who are preparing for a tournament season with multiple games and potential college scout attendance. The core advice centers on three pillars: (1) consume at least three meals per day that are high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and lower in fat, especially around game times; (2) eat high‑carb snacks before games and a combination of protein and carbs after games, with concrete examples like applesauce, dried mango, fruit snacks, beef sticks, and PB&J; and (3) stay properly hydrated by drinking an amount equal to half the athlete’s body weight in ounces plus an additional ~15 oz for each game played. The speaker emphasizes consistency across games to maintain high energy and performance, concluding with encouragement for the athletes.

Chapters

My AAU basketball players, females and males, tournaments are upon us. AAU season is coming. You're gonna be playing a lot of games and having college scouts come to those. We want your last game on Sunday where a college scout could potentially come and watch you play to be just as high energy and just as good as your first game on Friday. Here's how you can do that. Number one is you've got to make sure that you're eating at least 3 meals a day. We want those meals to be very high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and a little bit lower in fats, especially if it's around game time. Sandwich shops are always a very safe option. The second thing you need to be doing is eating before and after your game. You want to make sure that you're having a high-carb snack. That could be applesauce, dried mangoes, fruit snacks, whatever you need. High carb right before the game gives you energy. You need to be eating something right after the game, a little bit of protein and high carb as well. So like a beef stick and a PB&J. The last thing you need to make sure that you're dialed in and focused on is your hydration. Those are a lot of games. You're sweating a lot, you're putting out a lot of energy. The last thing you want to be doing is getting dehydrated. You want to be drinking half your body weight in ounces, and then about 15 ounces additional to that for every single game that you play. Good luck, guys. Hopefully this helps.