A coach says: I have a few players that seem to do well at the beginning of practice but tire out early before the rest of the team. What can I do?

The good news is that there are several strategies that coaches can take to solve the issue.

For starters, whether it’s practice or a game, what your players eat beforehand makes a tremendous difference in their stamina. Sugary drinks, snacks and highly processed carbs will spike their blood sugar and then send it crashing, along with their energy – usually toward the end of practice.

Communicate to your parents the importance of their athletes eating natural foods such as fruit, nuts and whole grains, ideally one hour before practices or games. Try smothering an apple in peanut butter. Eating right is one of the most powerful ways to give athletes long-lasting energy.

Dehydration also tires out athletes faster than wind sprints. Kids need to drink water before they get thirsty. Make sure they drink a few glasses of water before exercise and bring more with them. Sports drinks are an option for in-game hydration to replace some of the nutrients they lose, but water is always best ahead of time.

Coaches should allocate time purely for stamina building. Kids have amazing energy and can be pushed to improve it. A series of sprints, bear crawls, lunges and pushups are all excellent and will pay off come game time. Football, especially at the youth level, is ultimately a game of conditioning, both physical and mental.

Try shorter periods of physical exertion but add in a warm up, cool down and extra time at the end for work on their mental game and strategy.  Shorter and more intense is better for that age.

Finally, some kids have a tendency to get really fired up at the beginning of the game. Coaches should take note of which kids get mentally exhausted early and make it a point to pace their energy and manage them like a long-distance runner.

Craig Sigl’s work with youth athletes has been featured on NBC TV and ESPN. Get his free ebook: “The 10 Commandments For a Great Sports Parent” and also a free training and .mp3 guided visualization to help young athletes perform under pressure by visiting: MentalToughnessTrainer.com