Before competition, many of GlenOak’s athletic teams gather to take part in pasta dinners, a tradition before games for the purpose of getting the body ready to perform at its best.

The dinners held usually one to two days out from the competition are intended to stock the athletes up with carbohydrates to provide them with energy during competition, but also to bring the team together and share camaraderie. 

“Carb loading a couple days before a swim meet increases muscle glycogen. During taper in particular, such as before the Christmas Invite, reduced training lets muscles store extra glycogen. That’s called supercompensation. It improves endurance, repeat performance, and late-race speed,” coach Zac Hawkins said. “Glycogen storage takes about two days though, which is why loading works better than eating carbs only the night before. Swimmers benefit especially because meets involve multiple races; some other sprint sports like track benefit less if only one event is in question, or if the event is very short. The slight water weight that comes with glycogen is normal and helps muscle function.”

Aside from the science-based facts of the dinners, some athletes notice the changes the carbs do for them on competition day. 

“I have noticed how the carbs have made me feel more energized and overall ready to race when it comes,” sophomore Matt Warren said. 

Some people see the dinners as an eat and go home deal,and others see it as a gathering meant to serve as a fun night for everyone, and take away some of the nerves of the upcoming competition by hanging with the team. 

“My favorite memory from the pasta dinners is playing any game after we all eat, it makes me feel closer to the team and sets me up well for the meet come Saturday morning,” senior Jacob Riggle said. 

For many athletes, coming to the pasta dinners may be the only time they actually eat healthy food. This is also a factor leading up to the meet, making sure athletes have an opportunity to eat healthy before the competition, because the coach cannot be with them for the whole day to ensure this. 

“I eat a lot of fried foods and chips throughout the season because I do not feel like it makes that much of a difference in my performance when I do not eat them,” sophomore Matthew Warren said. 

The science behind the pasta dinners is consuming more than you need to get to where you want to be. Throughout the season, GlenOak athletes take the opportunity to grow in health, but also as a team at traditional pasta dinners and will continue to do so in the years to come.