Medical services personnel, coaching staff, athletic administrators, support service staff, and academic faculty can all be important stakeholders in the success of sports nutrition services. Team physicians, or- thopedic physicians, athletic trainers, and sport psychologists are important allies to the sports nutrition dietitian. Te athletic trainers are an especially vital connection given their day-to-day involvement in student-athletes’ medical care and overall team management. It is crucial to establish positive working rela- tionships with these providers, who can subsequently support and facilitate the collegiate sports dietitian’s work with the individual athletes and teams. Similarly, campus health services oſten have clinical labora- tories and on-site pharmacies with staff members who can become valuable colleagues to collaborate with on nutrition-related biochemical screening protocols and over-the-counter dietary supplement or product purchasing. Some health centers may also have counseling and psychological services staff who can assist with initial assessments and diagnosis of athletes with disordered eating cases. Tese providers can help identify proper referral outlets and bridge short-term and long-term care as needed.
COACHES
Coaching staffs, consisting of head and assistant coaches, operations staff, and strength and conditioning coaches, are all obvious partners for the collegiate sports dietitian’s work. Once these relationships have