This is one that is exceptionally hard for me. I get a lot of calls on recommendations for S&C coaches from the team setting. You can clearly see the connection between people seeking my advice on a potential S&C coach with my experiences. I also get a lot of calls on recommendations for Sport Nutritionists. This to me is less clear in that I am not a Nutritionist or Dietician. 

I have to confess that I have had a tumultuous relationship with Nutritionists. The reason is that I always have had to do effectively two jobs when they are around, with credit or compensation for only one of them. 

Every team setting I have ever worked has played out like this: zero focus on nutrition, me taking a vested interest in, start working with athletes, get great results, increase budget for peri workout nutrition, get better results, athletic department hires sports nutritionist, they see how good the sports nutrition is and just continue what I was doing, and I keep doing all the work. 

I have always either fallen into or absorbed sports nutrition due to lack of interest from other staff members. I have always been interested in nutrition for either aesthetics, performance, or general health. There has always been a natural gravitation to things like supplements and understanding nutrition. When the opportunity falls into your lap of something you are already interested in, you want to embrace it with open arms. 

The problem with the team setting are the power dynamics presented throughout the department. The presentation of being part of the team at all times is paramount to maintaining the ecosystem. For someone to get a lot of credit someone has to get less. Someone being really good means someone else has to not be good. The balance of power is critical to maintaining any bit of stability. 

Nutrition is really about connecting with and coaching athletes . Building relationships with trust and consistency is paramount to success with someone making better choices nutritionally. Nutrition is the one area an athlete can actually demonstrate control. If you appear to be dictatorial you can violate sacred ground. Building trust takes time, but more importantly it takes patience. 

One of the problems I see with Nutritionists is not appreciating that athletes will not inherently accept or comply with everything told to them. Telling someone to eat a certain amount of calories or macronutrients that does not trust you, will not work. This simple dynamic is often overlooked and why I always felt like I had better rapport with athletes in regards to nutrition.

Having an understanding of the emphasis of the training program helps with directing nutrition. Having perspective on the goal along with the athletes strengths and weaknesses helps with giving sound advice. Having a connection to the coaches and their assessment of what the athlete needs to get more reps or playing time helps with leverage to change dietary habits. Put simply, being vested in all aspects of the program give a huge advantage with making changes nutritionally.

When you have this insight on what to do, what is wanted, and when to do it you have a huge competitive advantage. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the acclaim when you help someone gain or lose 50-100lbs. I relished the opportunity to contribute and be the guy. But this naturally created a division between myself and the Sports Nutritionist on staff. My competitiveness, resentment, or advantages created a rift between me and the Nutritionist on staff. 

It should be considered flattering for a department to hire a person and increase a budget based on the merit of your work. This is not the case if you do not receive any bonus, increased compensation, or notoriety for it while maintaining the workload. Instead you get pitted in between a rock and a hard place of the coaches and athletes requesting you to help them and a Nutritionist that resents you. This leads to an Athletic Director that is frustrated by conflict amongst staff for seemingly a no brainer hire. 

I have always looked at jobs in the team setting as temporary. The inevitable changing of the guard of S&C staff gives you two perspectives. Either play nice and try to make as many allies as you can to preserve a job during transition. Or it manifests itself to being direct and focussed on doing a job, regardless of how it might make coworkers feel. I always leaned into the direction of doing as good of a job as you can, and let the others figure out their end. 

My advice with any department is to understand the role of every staff member. If they are paid to do a job, they should have clear roles and responsibilities. An S&C coach that gets thrown into doing the job of the nutritionist for a team somewhat unavoidable. It has been well established that athletes seek counsel from S&C coaches on sports nutrition and supplementation over all other staff members. If you cannot clearly define what a Nutritionist would do, or any staff member, then I would use restraint on hiring someone.