When the Game Won’t Let You Settle Into a Rhythm
Think about what a soccer midfielder’s body does over 90 minutes. Jogging and cruising runs, then walks, then sprints flat-out to chase a ball, hard plants to change direction, jumps for a header, and then jogging again—repeating some version of that cycle hundreds of times before the final whistle.
A marathoner, by contrast, settles into a steady, sustainable pace and holds it.
Both athletes are working tremendously hard. But they are asking for very different things from their bodies, and that means they need to fuel in very different ways.
In this installment of our Performance Nutrition series, where registered dietitians specializing in sports nutrition guide us through smart fueling strategies across different types of sport, we’re highlighting the top nutrition strategies for what sports scientists call “mixed” or intermittent sports—the stop-and-go, change-of-direction games that make up a huge share of the athletics most people play and watch.
What Makes Mixed Sports Their Own Category
Mixed sports are defined by their unpredictability. Rather than a single steady effort or one explosive lift, they demand repeated bursts of high-intensity work—sprints, jumps, tackles, and rapid changes of direction—woven together with periods of lower-intensity movement and brief recovery. The pattern is irregular, the work-to-rest ratio is constantly shifting, and the athlete rarely gets to settle into a predictable groove.
The list of sports in this category is long: Soccer, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, rugby, tennis, volleyball, and many others. What unites them is that they draw heavily on both of the body’s major energy systems.
The short, intense bursts are powered largely by the anaerobic system, which taps stored carbohydrates for quick, powerful efforts. The jogging, repositioning, and the ability to keep going for a full game lean on the aerobic system. Mixed-sport athletes live in the overlap, which is exactly what makes their fueling so distinctive.
There’s another layer that endurance and pure-strength athletes don’t face to the same degree: Skill under fatigue.
A basketball player still has to sink free throws in the fourth quarter; a tennis player still has to place a precise serve in the third set. Decision-making, reaction time, and fine motor control all matter, and all of them suffer when fuel and fluids run low. Nutrition for these athletes isn’t only about lasting the distance. It’s about protecting sharpness and skill from start to finish.
Everyday Active vs. Truly Training: An Important Distinction
Alison Cooney, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD
It’s worth being clear about who this guidance is really for, because the distinction is important. If you take a brisk fitness class, lift a few times a week, or play a casual weekend pickup game, a generally balanced diet—built around quality carbohydrates, adequate protein, plenty of produce, and good hydration—will serve you well. You don’t need to overhaul your plate to support that level of activity.
The athlete training and competing in a mixed sport is operating on a different level. They may be practicing or playing most days, sometimes twice a day, often with games stacked close together.
At that volume and intensity, fuel becomes a genuine performance variable rather than a background concern. The goal shifts from simply eating healthy to strategically timing carbohydrates, protein, and fluids around training and competition so the body can perform, recover, and adapt.
That strategic layer—the when and how much, not just the what—is where performance nutrition begins.
“For the athlete training and competing, eating enough calories is what matters most,” says Alison Cooney, a dietitian and a certified specialist in sports nutrition. “Once an athlete is meeting their overall energy needs, the next steps are focusing on what they eat and when they eat it.”
The Big Picture: 3 Jobs Your Nutrition Has to Do
For mixed-sport athletes, a smart nutrition approach is built to handle three jobs: Fueling training, powering competition, and driving recovery.
Carbohydrates are the headliner.
Because mixed sports rely so heavily on repeated high-intensity efforts, the muscles’ stored carbohydrate (glycogen) is the primary fuel that makes those bursts possible. When glycogen runs low, the sprints get slower, the jumps get lower, and—crucially—focus and skill begin to fade.
Sports nutrition authorities, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine in their joint guidance on athletic performance, consistently emphasize adequate carbohydrate as the foundation for athletes doing this kind of work.
Daily carbohydrate needs scale up with training load, which is one reason individualized guidance from a sports dietitian is so valuable.
Protein supports repair and adaptation.
The collisions, decelerations, and repeated efforts of mixed sports place real stress on muscle. Protein, spread across the day rather than crammed into one meal, supplies the building blocks the body uses to repair tissue and grow stronger between sessions.
Getting enough protein is important, but Alison cautions against overcorrecting in the direction of too much protein: “Not everything you eat needs to be high in protein. Carbohydrates should be the main macronutrient for athletes. Protein needs generally range from 1.2 to 2.0 grams per kilogram per day (approximately 80-140 grams a day for a 150-pound athlete), with the upper end more often used for injured athletes.”
Fluids and electrolytes protect performance and safety.
Even modest dehydration can blunt speed, endurance, and concentration—and in a sport that demands precise movement, that’s a meaningful disadvantage. Sweat losses vary widely from athlete to athlete, so hydration is highly individual.
Putting It Into Practice: When, What, and How Much
Here’s where strategy meets the plate. A few practical principles go a long way.
Before training or competition, the aim is to top off energy stores without sitting down to a heavy meal that lingers in the gut. A carbohydrate-rich meal a few hours out—think oatmeal with fruit, a rice-and-chicken bowl, or pasta with lean protein—gives the body time to digest. Closer to game time, a lighter, easy-to-digest carbohydrate snack such as a banana, toast with honey, or a granola bar can provide a final useful boost.
During activity, the need to refuel depends on how long the session runs. For shorter games and practices, water is often enough. But for longer or particularly intense sessions—or tournament days with multiple games—taking in some carbohydrates during play, along with fluids, can help maintain both energy and concentration through the final minutes.
After activity, recovery nutrition sets up the next performance. Combining carbohydrates to replenish glycogen with protein to support muscle repair, ideally within a couple of hours of finishing, helps the body bounce back—especially important when the next practice or game is less than a day away. A chocolate milk, a yogurt-and-fruit bowl, or a balanced meal all fit the bill.
Example Fueling Day
| Time | Fueling example |
| 7:00 AM | Breakfast: oatmeal, eggs, fruit and water |
| 10:00 AM | Snack: banana, protein bar and water |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch: chicken wrap, salad, sweet potato and water |
| 3:30 PM | Pre-practice snack: applesauce, gummy candy and water |
| 4:00-6:00 PM | Practice: rotate water and sports drink every 15 minutes |
| 6:30 PM | Dinner: salmon, rice, roasted vegetables, chocolate milk and water |
| 9:00 PM | Snack: Greek yogurt, berries and granola |
The Pitfalls That Trip Athletes Up
Even motivated athletes stumble in predictable ways. Here are a few of the most common.
Under-fueling carbohydrates.
Influenced by general “eat less, cut carbs” messaging aimed at the non-athlete population, some competitive athletes simply don’t eat enough of the fuel their sport demands—and their performance quietly pays the price.
Alison shares an example from her practice: “I worked with a defensive lineman who had avoided carbohydrates for about two years with a focus on weight management. As a result, he wasn’t getting the fuel he needed, and he reported a lot of fatigue in training. I recommended that he try a small pre-workout carbohydrate for three days. He was skeptical, but after we talked it over and he decided to give that one single change a try before moving on to any of my other recommendations. A week later, he was shocked by how much more energy he had. We then added carbohydrates more consistently, and his on-field performance metrics improved.”
This is an important lesson for athletes—starting with one simple change is often the best first step for performance nutrition. This sets up a model for success—addressing nutrition enhancements one at a time to see how a change impacts your performance before making any other changes.
Skipping recovery nutrition.
It’s easy to head straight to the next obligation after a game and forget to refuel. Over a packed season, those missed recovery windows add up to deeper fatigue and slower progress.
“Not being hungry after intense competition is common, but recovery is still crucial,” Alison explains. “If a full meal feels too challenging, have a snack instead. Chocolate milk, trail mix or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich are quick, easy ways to start recovery.”
Treating hydration as an afterthought.
Many athletes arrive at practice already under-hydrated and only think about fluids once they’re thirsty—at which point performance may already be compromised.
“Water has to be a priority from the moment you wake up,” Alison says. “Dehydration of just 2% of body weight can increase injury risk and reduce reaction time and concentration.”
Experimenting on game day.
A new pre-game meal or unfamiliar sports product, tried for the first time before a big competition, is a gamble. The reliable rule: Practice your fueling the same way you practice your sport. Alison’s rule of thumb: “Try something new at least three times on a training day before testing it on competition day.”
Beyond Game Day: The Considerations That Round It Out
Fueling for a mixed sport isn’t static. It flexes across the calendar and the circumstances.
In-season vs. offseason.
During the competitive season, nutrition centers on fueling performance and recovering between frequent games.
In the offseason, when training often shifts toward building strength and overall fitness, fuel needs and emphasis change accordingly. Eating exactly the same way year-round overlooks those real differences.
Alison’s advice is straightforward: “If you’re looking to change body composition, do it in the offseason. During the season, focus on fueling for performance.”
Tournament and travel days.
Mixed sports are famous for tournament formats with several games in a single day or weekend. These compress the recovery window dramatically and put a premium on portable, familiar, easy-to-digest snacks and diligent hydration between games.
Travel adds its own wrinkles—unpredictable food options and disrupted routines—that reward a little planning, like packing reliable snacks rather than depending on whatever the venue happens to offer.
“Between games, it’s a balance of recovery and refueling for the next game,” Alison says. “Choose a high-carbohydrate meal with lean protein and lower fat and fiber. A turkey sandwich with provolone and mustard, with fruit or chips on the side, is a great choice.”
Individual differences.
Sweat rates, food preferences, schedules, and digestive tolerances vary enormously from one athlete to the next. The principles here are a starting framework, not a prescription—which is precisely why working with a sports dietitian to personalize the details is so worthwhile.
“What works for someone else may not work for you,” Alison says. “I recommend working directly with a sports dietitian who can help build a plan for you.”
Alison also hears frequent complaints about travel meal fatigue: “Athletes get tired of eating the same thing over and over on the road. Mix it up when you can to avoid ‘sandwich fatigue.’ Even switching to a flatbread or wrap can make familiar ingredients feel different.”
The Bottom Line
Mixed sports ask the body to do a little of everything—sprint and sustain, power and persist—all while keeping skills sharp under fatigue.
Fueling for them means honoring that complexity: Carbohydrates to power the bursts, protein to repair and adapt, and fluids to protect both performance and focus, all timed intelligently around training and competition.
Master those fundamentals, personalize them to your sport and your body, and nutrition becomes one of the most reliable advantages an athlete can bring to the game.
Note: Since everyone’s health history and nutritional needs are so different, please make sure that you talk with your doctor and a registered dietitian to get advice about the diet and exercise plan that‘s right for you.