Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

7/26/2010 at 8:55am

FAYETTEVILLE — Spend some time in the football weight room at the University of Arkansas and you’ll find all the tools normally associated with a strength-and-conditioning program. Thousands of dollars have been invested in weight equipment and the installation of a modern video and sound system to keep players motivated as they train.

Surprisingly, the item that cost the least might be among the most valuable to the Razorbacks’ players. Kurt Schmidt’s recipe collection is arguably as important as anything else you’ll find in the state-of-the-art facility.

Schmidt is the strength-and-conditioning coach in charge of nutrition education at Arkansas. Essentially, he’s the mechanic responsible for making sure the Bobby Petrino football machine stays properly fueled.

So, just in case a player is cooking for himself and has a question — and there are always questions — Schmidt keeps a file of recipes handy. It’s a simple component to a complex and crucial part of training players for college football and beyond. He has collected around 100 simple-ingredient recipes over the last six or seven years during stops at Louisville, Utah State and Arkansas.

“I get random phone calls all the time — what to buy, how to make a meal,” Schmidt said. “That tells me they are interested, they care. There are a lot of components to what we do with strength and conditioning and nutrition. If they do them all to the best of their ability, they can be among the best in the country.”

Nutrition is a key component at most college football programs. Arkansas isn’t alone in its attempts to keep players well fed, but the Razorback staff has made educating players a focal point.

Instead of simply telling players to eat well, Schmidt and others show the Razorbacks what that means.

Some programs only punish players for failing to meet weight goals. There are consequences for Razorbacks that don’t make a target weight, but the focus is on the front end, where players are taught how to shop and prepare food for themselves when not under the watchful eye of coaches.

“We educate them,” strength-and-conditioning coordinator Jason Veltkamp said. “That’s where a lot of people miss the mark. They’ll punish a kid for not hitting a goal weight, but they won’t go do anything extra to educate them. That’s where Coach Schmidt has been huge for us.”

NCAA rules allow for one training table meal a day to be provided to football players during the school year. It’s Schmidt’s job to make sure the players know how to eat when he is not around.

What does that entail?

Schmidt actually accompanies players to the grocery store when they first arrive on campus. He’ll explain which foods are healthy options and how to eat nutritious meals on a budget. Instead of spending $7 for a turkey sandwich at a local restaurant, Schmidt and the training staff will explain the same sandwich can be made in a player’s apartment or dorm room for approximately $1.50.

Each month a newsletter is distributed to remind the Razorbacks how they can eat healthy. Material is distributed to each player that outlines which foods get the green light (best choices), yellow (OK in small doses) or red (avoid under most circumstances).

Players are also encouraged to attend a cooking show that is offered four times a year. Instructions on five-ingredient meals are provided.

“We’re trying to change habits,” Schmidt said.

And to ensure players eat well when they’re not being watched, even more attention has been put on the meals served when coaches are around. Arkansas did this with an overhaul of its training table policies when Petrino took over the program in December 2007.

Sodas, fried foods and desserts were all but eliminated as options. Those were standard fare at team meals for the previous decade and the same three to five restaurants were called on to provide food.

Much healthier options are now available and the options come from a larger variety of restaurants. Arkansas players can go four weeks without eating from the same restaurant twice.

Similar to the way Veltkamp changes up weight-lifting exercises throughout the year, variety helps keep the menu fresh for players that might otherwise grow bored with it.

Each provider of a training table meal has to follow strict instructions. First, the food must taste good. Second, the meal must include two sources of lean protein and steamed vegetable options and fresh fruit.

Additionally, players are split into different groups. Extreme weight-gain projects sit together as part of the “X-List” and must eat two plates of food before they can leave the Raymond Miller Room. Weight-loss candidates dine in an area called “The Farm” and must have their plates inspected for the proper contents before they can sit to eat.

Players attest to the benefits of the program. Whether they’re trying to gain weight or keep it off, Arkansas coaches can assist them either way.

Linebacker Terrell Williams weighed 217 when he arrived at Arkansas with the 2009 recruiting class. He should be close to 240 pounds when camp opens in August, something he attributes, in part, to Schmidt.

“We eat a lot,” Williams said. “It’s a great food program. They keep us right.”

Quarterback Ryan Mallett might be the program’s biggest success story yet.

Mallett is a testament to how proper nutrition can help a player shed weight. Mallett’s first successful encounter came when he redshirted after transferring from Michigan. He arrived in Fayetteville at 268 pounds and was able to slim down to 240.

Plus, the Heisman Trophy hopeful provides an example of the program helping a player maintain body weight under less-than-ideal circumstances. Mallett has spent much of the off-season in a boot because of two surgeries on his right foot. Schmidt’s diet plan has helped Mallett maintain weight even while he’s limited in the weight room.

“I think our nutritionist, Kurt Schmidt, has done an excellent job with [Mallett],” Petrino said “He now knows how to eat properly, what to eat.”

The same can be said for all the team’s players. Mallett is the most high-profile project, but success stories populate the roster. Keeping players healthy and eating properly is as important to Petrino and his staff as film study and practice.

It’s Schmidt’s job to impart that to players.

“If you eat poorly once, that can throw any good you did for your body right out the window. We’re trying to make sure guys understand that,” Schmidt said. “If their nutrition is out of whack, everything else will be.”

You Are What You Eat

Arkansas players aren’t just asked to watch what they eat; they’re taught how to eat properly based on weight goals, training schedules and a number of other factors.

Here are some of the key educational components to the nutrition program:

• Cooking classes that are held four times a year.

• Supervised grocery shopping trips for newcomers.

• Nutrition newsletter distributed monthly.

• Training table meals monitored.

Tagged: Kurt Schmidt, nutrition, Arkansas Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, Ryan Mallett