Peformance nutrition through inclusivity

Aimee Ellen O'Keeffe is a performance nutritionist with the Red Roses. She reflects on the experience so far and how to be inclusive and understanding when advising players.

Aimee Ellen O'Keeffe (right) with England Red Roses Attack Coach Lou Meadows (left). Photo credit: Gemma Louise photography

I joined the Red Roses and was immediatley involved in the WXV competition. The experience was amazing. I started my first day working with them when landed in NZ after flying solo. Talk about being thrown in the deep end!

It was an amazing time for me to learn and adapt. There are lots of reflections from that trip, which is driving the focus and changes for the upcoming Six Nations

Being the Performance Nutritionist for the Red Roses is amazing. They are a great group who want to improve their performance nutrition habits and behaviours. We are at the beginning of improving, educating and evolving this area.

I support athletes through education via squad online workshops and presentations. I will also be going out to clubs next season. The camp education focuses on when to go higher and when to go lower based on training day demand. It's a process.

I’ve learnt alot since I started with England. This includes recognising that there is a lot of education to complete with the team in order to raise awareness and confidence around fuelling and recovery. Food is mood and on long camps we need to get creatvie

Prior to joining the Red Roses, I was a Performance Nutritionist for Manchester United Women's 1st Team and U21's. The experience was something I loved.

It was hard to leave. I learnt my trade there the hard way, which is the most important way, and left the department in a better place than I found it.

The starter advice I would provide to grassroots players is to control the controllables: what are you doing in the hours before training and the hours after? If there are gaps, fill them. Be organised with snacks/drinks to take in your bag to easily fuel and recover.

Being inclusive whilst giving nutrition advice is important. We can do this by understanding the person, the demand of the position and the goals of the player.