One to three hours prior to a strenuous morning event.(such as an 8:00 a.m. volleyball match), you should also eat a light breakfast or small snack. This food helps maintain a normal blood sugar level and enhances your stamina and endurance. Before an afternoon or evening competition, eat a hearty breakfast (cereal, pancakes, waffles, bagel), a comfortable lunch (soup, sandwich), and a snack or dinner as tolerated.

Although many athletes believe they should exercise on an empty stomach, current research suggests pre-exercise food actually improves performance. Because each athlete tolerates pre-exercise food differently, you need to experiment during training to determine the quantity and type of food that works best for your body. Some popular choices include oatmeal, cereal with lowfat milk, fresh or canned fruit, energy bars, crackers and bagels. Avoid large, hard-to-digest, fatty meals (bacon & fried eggs, burgers, fried chicken).