Energy to Train, Energy to Perform
Why fuelling matters for young athletes
Young athletes are naturally active. They run, jump, play games, and often seem to have endless energy. Because of this, it can sometimes be easy to assume that if a child is moving and participating in sport, they are ready to train and compete.
However, there is an important difference between simply playing sport and training for performance. While both involve physical activity, structured training and competition place far greater demands on the body and the brain. Sprinting at high speed, repeating jumps, refining throwing technique, concentrating on instructions, and performing under competition pressure all require a consistent supply of energy.
When young athletes have adequate energy available, they can engage fully in the training process. Movements are sharper, concentration is higher, and skill learning becomes more effective. When energy availability is low, training quality often drops even if the athlete is still physically present in the session.
Playing vs Training
Children can still participate in games or recreational sport when they are a little tired or under-fuelled. The body naturally adjusts intensity and effort. Training environments, however, are designed to challenge specific physical and technical qualities, and this requires greater readiness.
During a structured athletics session, athletes are not only moving, but they are also learning and adapting. The nervous system is processing new information, coordinating complex movement patterns, and responding to coaching feedback. All these processes depend on sufficient energy being available.
When athletes arrive at training with good energy availability, coaches often see:
Higher quality sprinting, jumping, and throwing efforts
Better coordination and movement control
Greater concentration during skill learning
More consistent effort across the entire session
Improved recovery between training days
In contrast, when energy levels are low, athletes may still participate but the training effect becomes much smaller. Signs can include:
Early fatigue during sessions
Reduced movement quality or coordination
Difficulty concentrating on technical instruction
Lower training intensity
Slower recovery between sessions
Over time, repeated training with low energy availability can limit skill development and reduce the overall effectiveness of the training process.
Energy, Growth, and the Training Response
One of the unique challenges in junior sport is that young athletes are not simply exercising, they are developing biologically at the same time.
During childhood and adolescence, the body undergoes continuous growth and maturation. Bones lengthen, muscle mass gradually increases, connective tissues adapt to loading, and the nervous system refines coordination and movement control. Hormonal systems are also becoming more active as athletes move through different stages of puberty.
All these processes require energy. In fact, for many developing athletes a large portion of daily energy use is already dedicated to basic growth and development, before training is even considered.
When structured training is added, sprinting, jumping, throwing, strength work, and skill learning, the body must now distribute energy between several competing demands:
Growth and biological development
Daily activity and school
Training load and physical adaptation
Recovery and tissue repair
If energy availability becomes too low, the body will prioritise the most essential processes first. This often means reducing the resources available for training adaptation and performance.
Over time, this can influence several important physiological systems involved in athletic development:
Neuromuscular function - reduced coordination, slower reaction and movement speed
Muscle repair and adaptation - slower recovery between sessions
Hormonal regulation - disruptions to normal growth and maturation processes
Bone development - reduced support for skeletal growth and strength
For developing athletes, the goal is not simply to complete training sessions, but to allow the body to adapt positively to the training stimulus.
Energy to Train vs Energy to Perform
It is also helpful to think about energy availability in two different ways: energy to train and energy to perform.
Energy to train refers to having enough available fuel for the body to adapt to the work being done in training. This includes supporting learning of new skills, neuromuscular coordination, muscle repair, and recovery between sessions.
Energy to perform refers to the ability to produce high-quality efforts during a session or competition, such as sprinting fast, jumping powerfully, or maintaining concentration under pressure.
When energy availability is appropriate, young athletes can both train effectively and perform well within sessions.
When energy is too low, athletes may still be able to participate, but the training effect becomes reduced. In some cases, athletes may still complete the session but with:
Lower movement quality
Reduced power or speed
Decreased concentration during skill learning
Greater fatigue across the week
Over time, this can limit the effectiveness of the training process.
The Role of Fuelling in Development
For coaches and parents, the key takeaway is that training adaptation depends on energy availability. The body can only improve its physical and technical capacities if it has the resources required to respond to training.
Ensuring young athletes arrive at training with adequate energy helps support:
High-quality movement and skill development
Better neuromuscular coordination
More effective recovery between sessions
A positive and enjoyable training experience
Because of this important connection, this month’s nutrition section of the newsletter focuses specifically on fuelling a growing athlete and what families can do to support energy availability during periods of training and development.
When growth, training, and fuelling are aligned, young athletes are in the best possible position to develop their skills, improve their physical capacity, and enjoy the process of becoming better athletes.
The goal is not to complicate nutrition, but to help understand how supporting energy needs allows young athletes to get the most out of their training.
When training, growth, and fuelling work together, athletes are better prepared to learn, perform, and continue developing within the sport.
