WHEN young athletes move away from home for the first time, it is the diet that must be taken care of first.

Some athletes suffer from not having their parents cooking meals, from not being able to bolster their bodies or from not keeping the fat away.

Dieticians at sporting clubs generally help every athlete get on top of their specific needs. They will recommend specific foods or ingredients to add when cooking.

West Coast Eagles player Jordan Jones, who was drafted last year from Geelong Falcons at pick 52 in the AFL draft, moved to Perth from Ocean Grove in Victoria.

His diet initially became an issue evidently because his host family weren’t football or athlete-literate in terms of his dietary needs.

“My host family don’t follow footy at all,” Jones said.
“They couldn’t have children so they knew a couple people at the club and decided to become host parents. They are great people and really helping me through an important phase of my life.”

“My diet was an issue when I first got to the club and my hosties don’t have a sporting background or not much knowledge on a healthy diet for a athlete so we all sat down with the dietician and changed a few things…like I’m now cooking dinner a couple of nights a week and know exactly what’s going into it the food… and it’s helped me and certainly helped them too,” he said.