On this very latest episode of Toes On The Line, I bring on my former colleague when I was an Intern Strength Coach with the New York Giants, Pratik Patel, Director of Performance Nutrition/Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. Currently still with the New York Giants, Pratik was the first ever Dietician brought on to Big Blue, and has filled a dual capacity role as both Sports Dietician and Assistant Strength Coach.
Pratik starts us off by talking about his dual role with Big Blue, and also how he has been able to become extremely successful within the organization, surviving multiple coaching turnovers. Many of the things he utilizes in his career are lessons from previous experiences, which he has managed to optimize his for his career path.
During this episode, Pratik and I wanted to take a different approach than a typical "nutrition" conversation. We took time to focus on the state of the sport nutrition role, and how it is negatively viewed by most people. Pratik takes extreme measures in his position and lays out foundational guidelines as to what helped him become successful. He also talks about his role with the club, and how his interactions and relationships with other coaches and staff members has helped him excel in collaborative efforts between himself and the strength staff.
Pratik mentions many fallacies he personally sees in the field of sports, and how most people view dieticians and sport nutritionists in general, and speaks of the root cause of these issues. He starts by explaining how internships today are not allowing dieticians in the sports industry to fully excel and become indispensable within their organization. He talks about, education and how many people graduate with no practical experience or any idea of how to apply their knowledge.
As Pratik goes on in the episode, he mentions how one day he would hope to fill an administrative role, encouraging the importance of a sports dietician. Pratik's respectful approach is all in essence to aid the sporting industry become full circle at the collegiate level so that athletes can be better guided for greater life choices in their dietary habits.
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