NATCHITOCHES – Young athletes spent four days developing athletic skills and learning the role nutrition plays in performance during Northwestern State University’s third annual Sport Agility & Nutrition Camp, hosted by the School of Kinesiology.
The camp, held July 13-16, brought together about 30 athletes ages 8-17 for instruction in agility, speed and power development, sports nutrition and fitness testing. Participants worked alongside NSU faculty, staff and student instructors while completing drills designed to improve athletic performance across a variety of sports.
“We’re teaching them about different sports, the nutrition behind sports and why we eat the way we do and how it benefits our bodies,” said Dr. Lauren Mitchell, assistant professor in NSU’s School of Kinesiology, who led the camp’s nutrition instruction.
The camp combines performance training with nutrition education to help athletes understand how training, fueling and recovery work together. Throughout the week, participants rotated through stations focused on agility, speed and power, individualized nutrition recommendations, sport-specific fitness testing and personalized instruction.
“Every sport is going to have some kind of explosive movement to it whether it be sprints or jumps, push off or takeoff,” Mitchell said. “Every sport is going to have a speed component to it, a hand-eye coordination component to it and balance, so we try to teach those skills to translate across all of the different sports.”
Campers completed a series of performance assessments throughout the week, including jump, distance, grip strength, speed and other athletic testing. Instructors used those results to tailor instruction to each participant’s sport.
“We do a lot of testing to see where student-athletes are on their performance journey,” said Maya Lucas, instructor in NSU’s School of Kinesiology and one of the camp’s directors.
Lucas said campers also learned how nutrition supports athletic performance through lessons they can apply outside the camp.
“We provide them with healthy, nutritious options that they can take when they’re going to practice and play,” Lucas said. “We’re taking a lot of stuff that we have in the nutrition class and teaching them how they can apply that to their specific sport.”
Chris Bertrand, NSU head baseball coach and parent of camper Callen Bertrand, said the camp gives young athletes an opportunity to build athletic skills in an environment they enjoy.
“To come and have some fun with their friends while really learning the things that are necessary in the world of fitness,” Bertrand said. “You have to understand the paramount importance of functional strength. You need to prepare your body at all times for what you’re going to require it to do on the field or the court of play.”
The Sport Agility & Nutrition Camp is designed for athletes ages 8-17 and introduces participants to sport-specific training, nutrition education and fitness assessments led by faculty and student instructors in NSU’s School of Kinesiology.
For more information about the School of Kinesiology, visit nsula.edu/kinesiology.