Every sport puts different demands on a young athlete — a rugby prop and a swimmer aren't fuelling for the same thing. Each guide below covers training-day meals, matchday or competition-day fuelling, half-time/between-events snacks, recovery, and the mistakes we see most often for that specific sport — all sourced from the same UK government dietary data across the board.
Choose your sport
If you're here for a girl
Every sport page above carries a girls-specific section, because the figures genuinely differ — iron rises to 14.8mg a day from around 12 once periods begin, against 11.3mg for boys, and calcium sits at 800mg through the years bone density is being built for life.
Low iron is common in female athletes and it looks like a fitness problem rather than a nutrition one: fading in the second half, slower recovery, times that stop improving. Start with Nutrition for Girls in Sport, then read the section on your sport's page.
Playing more than one sport?
Look at your child's total weekly training load across all their sports rather than fuelling each session in isolation — that combined picture is what actually drives extra food needs, not any single training day. Our age-by-age guides cover this in more depth.
Looking for something else?
- Browse guidance by age instead
- Read our core topics: Build Strength, Support Growth, Safe Strength, Fussy Eaters
- Get the free guide library
This page provides general educational guidance and is not a substitute for advice from a GP, health visitor, registered dietitian, or qualified coach.