Katie O’Reilly ’14, Alex Rice ’13: The time: 12:45 PM The place: Tierney Dining Hall. Fifth period has just ended, and a flood of Upper School students has just broken over the Campus Center, intent upon achieving one common goal: lunch.
Some students head straight for the sandwich counter, while others step in line for hot the day’s hot meal. Still more grab pizza, salad, yogurt, soup, or bagels. In the midst of the lunchtime chaos, Episcopal’s athletes are planning, carefully curating the meals that will serve them best in a few hours’ time, on the field, court, or course, or in the pool.
For Epsicopal’s athletes, food is a question of performance. From peanut butter to pasta, each athlete has a specific food or meal that helps him or her perform at the highest level possible during a game.
With EA/Haverford/AIS weekend quickly approaching, Scholium got the inside information about what varsity captains will be eating before their big games.
Football Captain and quarterback Adam Strouss ’13 emphasized the role that protein plays in his game-day meals. “I start with a big breakfast and some protein, maybe a protein shake in the morning,” he noted. “The rest of the day is pretty light [with]some protein around lunch time and then a little more again before the game.”
Kellen Edmonson ’13, Boys Water Polo Captain and starting goalie, echoed the importance of protein on game day.
He explained, “protein sticks with you and keeps you from feeling hungry during the game, but it doesn’t overload you, it doesn’t make you feel sick.”
He added, “I try to eat a lot of protein on the day of a game, in addition to some carbs. I really like to eat pasta the night before a game because it kepps me full.”
Female athletes are also particular about their game day diets. Girls Cross Country Captain Caroline Giles ’13 stated, “On the morning of a race day I eat a sunny side up egg on whole-wheat toast.”
For lunch, Giles “typically [has] a peanut butter and banana sandwich on wheat bread,” which provides her with the energy necessary to compete in a 5K race.
Girls Soccer Captain Kristen Hinckley ’13 stressed the importance of fruit and water before games. Hinckley starts off game day with a fruit bowl containing strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and pineapple, along with a slice of whole grain toast and orange juice.
During the day, she makes it a priority to stay hydrated, constantly drinking water. For lunch she eats a ham and cheese sandwich with grapes and oranges.
Girls Water Polo Captains, Alix Vadot ’13 and Carter Gantt ’13, also discussed the importance of nutrition on the day of game. Both Vadot and Gantt eat their normal breakfast of cereal with milk but they alter their lunches to fuel for the game. Both Vadot and Gantt eat high protein foods for lunch with little to no carbohydrates. Vadot also sets aside each game day as a “no-cookie day.”
In a one to two hour game, an athlete will burn approximately 1,000 calories – half of their average daily caloric intake. Due to this intense nature of sports, it is imperative that athletes receive proper nutrition prior to a game.
With the right game day diet, Episcopal athletes will perform to the best of their abilities and will be successful on EA/Haverford/AIS weekend.

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