Last year, sports medicine providers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham partnered with Bama Wellness Advocacy to launch a revolutionary nutrition program for athletes in Birmingham City Schools. The program emphasizes the significance of proper nutrition, as well as the importance of self-wellness factors such as sleep and mental health, ultimately aiming to enhance the overall performance and well-being of student-athletes. While the pilot program initially began with the basketball programs at Ramsey High School and Huffman High School, it has been expanded to serve four of the city’s football programs, six of its basketball programs and some of the springs sports teams across Birmingham City Schools.

Led by James Jones, head athletic trainer for the UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Birmingham City Schools, and Jacquie Fazekas, founder of Bama Wellness Advocacy, the program at Wenonah High School has expanded to include a Peer Health and Wellness Club and collaboration with the school’s culinary arts program. The club provides education about nutrition to student-athletes, their fellow classmates, coaches and parents.

With this expansion, Jones and Fazekas partnered with local caterers and Birmingham City Councilor Clinton Woods to grow the program at Huffman High School to provide nutrition education, snacks, game day breakfast and pre-game meals for all sports.

“With the new Peer Health and Wellness Club, we have been able to expand upon our ability to teach coaches, parents and athletes how they can prioritize healthy eating into their everyday lives,” Fazekas said. “As the program expands, we hope to be able to build our peer wellness groups in each school to help facilitate conversations about healthy diet and behaviors among these student-athletes and their peers.”

An enhanced benefit that UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine has added to the program includes access to a registered dietitian who can provide counseling on topics such as weight loss and weight gain, education about eating disorders, and dietary recommendations for athletic performance.

“These young athletes are catalysts for change in their communities, specifically when it comes to prioritizing their health,” Jones said. “Their impetus for change has already influenced their family members and community members to take steps to protect their health, and we hope that impact continues to expand as we grow this program. We are continuing to pursue additional partnerships to help support our expansion, so we can reach our goal of serving every student-athlete across every school in Birmingham City Schools.”