Caring for the cats

When it comes to hurling, one senior team stands out from the pack. Even if you were to ask someone who knew little or nothing about the sport, they could probably tell you that Kilkenny is the team to beat. The Cats have won a record 36 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships, and few would bet against them in 2016.

Clinical dietitian, Noreen Roche has been working with the team since the late 1990s – a time when few teams would have had dietetic input. Things have changed a lot since then.

Ms Roche qualified as a clinical dietitian from DIT in 1998. She had always been interested in sports nutrition. While the DIT course included a sports module, she decided to undertake further study in this area. She undertook a dietetics course at Loughborough University in the UK, which she completed in 1999.

At the time, sports nutrition was relatively new so opportunities were limited. She worked full-time in clinical dietetics, in the renal unit of Beaumont Hospital for eight years, while the sports nutrition side of things was “more like a hobby”.

“The diversity there was huge. You were dealing with very sick people, and renal diets then were tough and very difficult to comply with, so the sports nutrition was a great diversion,” explains Ms Roche.

Brought up in the culture of a Kilkenny supporter and a camogie player herself, while at Loughborough, she contacted the Kilkenny hurling manager at the time and asked him whether he had considered nutrition for the team. A week later, she got a phone call to come in and has been working with the team ever since. The following year, the now legendary Brian Cody took over as manager. 

“I come in and I do my job and he doesn’t interfere. He respects everybody’s area of expertise and the sports science side of things and has always been extremely enthusiastic about that,” she notes.

Like many players, Ms Roche lives in Dublin and makes the journey to Kilkenny. She is head of medical affairs in Ireland for Nutricia, where she works Monday to Thursday. While her work with the Kilkenny team can vary, she always tries to attend at least one training session per week and all matches. 

Ms Roche has to catch up with the players either before or after training. She is also in contact by phone and email for an hour or two each night. When it comes to nutrition and training, there is an emphasis on carbohydrates and protein. She says that many players need to eat more than they are and there can be a misconception about eating before training. As long as players are eating the right thing, she encourages them to eat before training, when energy needs are high. 

Good balanced nutrition is the key. She has seen players vomiting on the sideline “and you know it’s because they have had a bar of chocolate literally on the way in”.

When it comes to match days, routine is all-important. Teams tend to work to a particular routine and food is no different. “We choose quite basic, high carbs, low-fat food, so it could be sandwiches, it could be pasta, yoghurts, fruit, that kind of stuff, just generally healthy”, she explains. The players eat two or three hours before a match and this is based on general guidelines and recommendations around sport.

After the match, they usually would have to have something from a recovery perspective within about an hour. Again, these are general guidelines. 

In terms of annual monitoring, a player’s requirements for nutrition are based on weight. They get individual meal plans and these may change at certain times of the year depending on whether, for example, they need to lose, gain or maintain their weight. When players find the training tough, their nutrition will be checked in case this is the underlying reason. There could be an issue like not eating correctly or eating the wrong quantities. Ms Roche also points out that some of the players are in college and may find healthy eating a challenge either in terms of routine or finances.

Alcohol may also be a factor, particularly for the younger players who may have active social lives. “We recommend that they don’t drink at all because even a few drinks will have an impact on the ability to get fitter”. However, to be realistic, players are encouraged not to over-indulge and to stay hydrated, before or after a few drinks. 

With GAA playing such an integral part in many communities nationwide, does Ms Roche have any advice for children and teenagers playing the sport?

The principles are the same for everyone. She notes that it is good practice to get young people to think healthily about food and to get them drinking fluids before, during and after matches. She has noticed over the years many players who get to the age of 18 or 19 and are not used to drinking fluids, so it is hard for them to take up this habit later on.

On the controversial issue of sports drinks, she says that these may have a place in long bouts of exercise or very intense matches. In children, they only have a possible role in longer events like blitzes or gymnastics competitions, where children are literally on the go all day long. 

For dietitians interested in the area of sports nutrition, Ms Roches advises that it “is about putting yourself out there and making yourself available”. Due to training and match times, this can be challenging. However, as sports nutrition courses become more plentiful, this has become a more accessible career path.