Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

Supplements for young athletes

30 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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0:45

In this brief segment, the speaker addresses a common influx of messages from 12‑year‑old athletes asking about creatine, beta‑alanine, and pre‑workout supplements. He argues that without a solid foundation of proper nutrition—three balanced meals with protein, fats, carbs, fruits, and vegetables—regular snack intake, carbohydrate fueling before practice, adequate hydration, and at least eight hours of sleep, young athletes have no justification for experimenting with supplements. He characterizes supplements as a “Band‑Aid” that should only be considered after the core basics are mastered, describing them as contributing merely the final ~5% of performance improvement.

Chapters

In my DMs, I have messages from 12-year-olds asking if they should take creatine, or if they should take beta alanine, or if they should be taking pre-workout. If you are not fueling your body, eating 3 balanced meals a day with protein, fats, carbs, fruits, and vegetables, if you are not eating multiple snacks a day, carbohydrate snacks before your practices, if you are not hydrating well, if you are not sleeping 8 hours a night, you have no business trying out supplements. Too many athletes use supplements as a Band-Aid instead of an aid. There's certain supplements that are amazing when you have those things dialed in, but it's not going to get you very far if you don't have those core things dialed in beforehand. Supplements are the last 5% of the equation, my friends.