Every single girls hockey player has participated in the post-game pizza tradition at one time or another. Whether the pizzas come to the dressing room, the team bus or the hotel room at the tournament, this is a cheap and convenient solution to the post-game meal for girls hockey teams everywhere. In university, our team’s post-game recovery meal was almost always pizza. After stepping off the ice, doing our cool-down and getting cleaned up, it was about an hour since the game. By the time we finally got to that pizza, we were absolutely starving and all the slices went fast.
So when I was back in New Hampshire this weekend, I thought that I would keep the tradition alive. We always got our post-game pizza from the same place in town, Ramuntos, and their specialty is my most favorite pizza dish of all time, the calzone.
Looks good, right? But is it a good choice as a post-game recovery meal?
I have honestly been craving one of these calzones since I graduated from Dartmouth six years ago. As you can see from the picture, they are absolutely HUGE and really should be shared by two people. But after going for a three-hour bike ride and then playing in the alumni game a few hours later, I knew that this calzone was going to be eaten by me and me alone.
I can honestly say that the 6 year wait for my post-game pizza was worth it. Sure, I felt a little bit sick afterwards (similar to how you feel after you eat too much at Thanksgiving dinner), but I enjoyed every single bite. I should have taken an “after” picture too, but I was so full from eating the entire thing that I could barely lift the camera.
Let’s be clear - this is NOT an ideal post-game meal and definitely NOT something I would recommend doing more than once every 6 years. Over the past decade, the “post-game pizza” tradition in elite female hockey has been replaced by much healthier choices, such as low-fat turkey subs on whole-wheat bread loaded with veggies and fresh fruit as dessert. This is definitely a better choice to make as a post-game meal for all girls hockey players if you are going to maximize your recovery.
Luckily, I was not playing another game the day after I ate the world’s biggest calzone. However, I did go for another 3 hour bike ride and I felt that post-game pizza the whole way. But we all need to treat ourselves once in a while, don’t we?
What’s your favorite post-game meal?
Share it in the comment box below and I will let you know how you can “tweak” it to make it even more effective for recovery.
~ Coach Kim
I really don’t eat anything special after a game except for have a bottle of a half gatorade half water mix. Most meals I try to get a good balance of protein and carbs so that’s what I continue after a game. Should I be eating a more specific meal, like more carbs or more protein?
The Gatorade/Water mix is great for immediately afterwards. Maybe even add a piece of fruit to further speed up the recovery process. Have your meal with a good balance of cards and protein within an hour or two after the game. A ratio of 4:1 or 3:1 grams of carbohydrate to protein is ideal for refueling within this 2 hour post game window.
~ Coach Kim
Kim, I am happy to report that when I travel with the Bemidji State women’s hockey team their usual postgame meal (at least on the road) is Subway or some local sandwich shop. I find that it’s much healthier than the typical pizza that I know our men’s team devours after their games most of the time. Sometimes our coaches will switch things up and we’ll stop for Chipotle, which is similar in the sense of your Calzone in that it’s a ton of food and somewhat heavy. However, it’s hard to pass up the Rice Crispy bars from our assistant coach’s girlfriend or when one of the girl’s grandma sends along her fudge brownies. That’s usually only a treat after game two on the weekend. Otherwise our coaches do a great job stocking up the bus on the way back with fruit, granola bars, water and Gatorade.
Subway is a great post game meal. Grilled chicken with lots of veggies is a good choice with lots of water and/or juice. But the important thing not to forget is the recovery window (15 to 30 minutes) right after the game or practice. This is the period when the body is the most efficient at replenishing energy stores which accelerates the recovery process. Water &/or sports drinks, a fruit and a low fat yogurt will do the trick! Make it a habit and bring these with you to the rink. You will notice the difference! Your post game meal should be eaten within 2 hours.
I’ll normally bring fruit snack gummys and/or a granola bar for a snack before the game to settle my stomach and enough for after the game. I also drink water and when I can a gatorade or powerade. I’ll go home normally right after my games or practices and I’ll have a full meal, whatever my mom makes. Her meals are normally pretty good on the carbs and protein.
If I play a game, like the one I just played, where I only got 3 shots and that’s pretty much the only time they were in my end and I only played 2 periods, do I really need to replenish my energy stores?
Great question! You should always replenish your energy stores after a game - even if it wasn’t the most challenging game ever. You might not have been extremely active and burned off a ton of energy, but you still warmed-up and played 3 periods. It has probably been at least an hour or two since you ate last, so having a piece of fruit is a great way to start the recovery process. Recovery is really all about getting yourself prepared for the next time you hit the ice and you want to make sure that you have the fuel in the tank for your next activity too.
~ Coach Kim
Is there any need to replenish if I sit on the bench the whole game or for all but 5 minutes of the game?
If you are a goalie who isn’t playing in the game, replenishing your energy stores isn’t quite as important as the skaters. So you definitely don’t want to be eating the HUGE pizza after the game since you didn’t use as much fuel as everyone else. Always have a snack on hand with you just in case you get hungry and focus on eating your regular healthy meals on days you don’t play.
~ Coach Kim
Okay thanks, hopefully I’ll have to be eating those larger meals though more often then not
If we are on the road i usually stop at subway and get a sub and a chocolate milk. The other weekend we were in oshawa for a tournament and one of the moms bought us all a chocolate milk and a banana after each game….. i found it really made me full. I was still thirsty so had water but i didn’t really want anything else to eat.