June 20, 2018
Editor's note: Building highly successful athletics programs requires many facets. In this "Auburn Builds Champions" series, we will profile eight Auburn Athletics coaches and support staff members and their keys to success. In part seven, director of sports nutrition Lauren Silvio discusses fueling and educating student-athletes for competition and lifelong health.
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Like many on Auburn University's campus, Lauren Silvio considers herself an educator. Unlike most instructors, Silvio's subject matter is food, an edible expertise.
"The main thing I want to do is give these student-athletes the tools and the knowledge to take it from here into their lives, whether they're going to a professional career, or whether they're moving on to being a normal person in the real world," said Silvio, who joined Auburn Athletics as director of sports nutrition two years ago after earning master's in kinesiology at LSU.
"A lot of our kids come in and they may not have any kind of nutrition background, so they don't understand fully what the body is doing when you're consuming different kinds of foods," she said. "Education is so big because if you don't give them that knowledge here, and they didn't have it before, then they're going out into the world or a professional setting without any idea. That's our biggest job, to teach them basic nutrition knowledge to help them out for whenever they leave."
Silvio and sports dietitian Stephanie Kolloff-O'Neill, along with their team of graduate assistants and interns, provide nutrition services for each of Auburn's 21 varsity teams.
Working with the Wellness Kitchen staff, Silvio provides menu suggestions based on feedback from student-athletes, accounting for any food allergies and the dietary preferences of international students.
"'Can we do this differently? We think the kids would like this a lot better.' Or, 'Can we replace this ingredient with something a little bit more healthy?'" Silvio said. "Trying to make those changes that maybe, it isn't in that recipe, but we know it could be a little bit more nutrient dense or more beneficial to the kids."
Like the student-athletes she serves, Silvio rises early to attend their weight training sessions and practices. She provides snacks before and after practices and games, and designs menus for pregame meals. Competition fueling, as Silvio calls it.
On football road trips, Silvio will arrive a day before the team to go over the menu with the hotel chef. The Friday night meal features carbohydrates and lean proteins: spaghetti and meatballs, lean ground beef, grilled shrimp and chicken. Silvio encourages the student-athletes to put some color (vegetables) on their plates.
After team meetings, an evening snack consists of sandwiches, trail mix or fruit.
On game day, breakfast features an omelet station, pancakes, fruit, bacon and lean proteins like turkey sausage.
"We always want to have those really lean and healthy options," Silvio said. "A lot of times we also want them to be consuming calories. Sometimes you have to have that balance there where they can have both of those options. That's really important for them."
During football games, you'll see Silvio on the sideline and outside the locker room, helping players refuel with snacks like applesauce.
The time Silvio and her staff invest with student-athletes allows them to develop relationships and build trust.
"We don't ever want to come across as the food police," she said. "We do want them to eat the proper things, but we also want them to feel comfortable coming to us, because nutrition can be an awkward conversation for people."
With their heavy training load, student-athletes' nutrition needs differ during their years of competition from once their playing years conclude.
"We're trying to make sure that when they leave, they are understanding that they're no longer training the same as a collegiate athlete," Silvio said. "It's important for us to teach them, on the way out, what the best practices are for what they're going to do moving on.
"We need to make sure that they have the knowledge of how to change their dietary habits a little bit to go with how their training will be moving forward."
Lauren Silvio and her team of nutrition experts. Helping Auburn build champions, one heathy meal at a time.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer
AUBURN BUILDS CHAMPIONS SERIESPart 1: Staffing key to Auburn baseball success
Part 2: Greg Williams' vision produces championships for Auburn equestrian
Part 3: Lauren Spencer prepares student-athletes for life after tennis
Part 4: Soccer's Karen Hoppa develops winning culture
Part 5: Teamwork, technology transform Auburn soccer
Part 6: Serving others a top priority for sports medicine staff