The trips are often a little awkward for Kyle Bellamy.
Bellamy, the University of Miami's new football team nutritionist, spends many days taking the Hurricanes players shopping at various grocery stores near campus. Sometimes, it's Publix or Whole Foods. Mostly, it's Trader Joe's.
Weird looks from other customers are frequent as Bellamy walks through the produce area and pasta aisles with groups of 200- to 300-pound athletes.
He quickly shakes them off, knowing he is part of the process of building a stronger UM football program.
"What I am trying to create is a lifestyle," Bellamy said. "Those changes can last a lifetime, and at some point football is going to end, and if you can have a good, healthy lifestyle, it is going to make the biggest difference."
Bellamy, a former Hurricanes baseball player, was hired to work full time with the football team in February. He earned his undergraduate degree in exercise physiology and is finishing the master's program in strength and conditioning and sports nutrition.
The decision to add a nutritionist was a move suggested by first-year coach Mark Richt, who has long preached nutrition and health throughout his career. Results have already begun to show, with players easily buying into living healthier lifestyles.
"I will take them shopping and tell them to set a budget, and we will plan their meals and snacks to fit their budget for the week," said Bellamy, who pitched at UM from 2006-09 before being drafted in the fifth round by the Chicago White Sox. "You can eat healthy on a small budget, it just takes a little bit more planning. It takes education to know what to buy."
It was Richt's idea to hand over a portion of the players' stipend to Bellamy. In the past, players were on their own when buying food. Problems arose, especially during the summers, when they spent so much time off campus. Now, Bellamy helps them purchase healthy meals and snacks.
The biggest challenge is finding food that is also tasty. The baseball player in Bellamy causes him to call it a "home run" when he can combine the two. Included in the grocery-store rotations are trips to Grown, an organic fast-food restaurant owned by former Heat player Ray Allen.
"Those kids (in the past) really weren't responsible to eat the right things," Richt said. "They'll eat, but do they really eat the right things to fuel their body? Now, that they have the education from our nutritionist and the fact that we have the meals we're providing for them, they can't hardly help but make the gains that we need."
The Hurricanes have seen improvement across the board, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. Several of them have already experienced a decrease in body fat.
"It's been really good," said defensive end Scott Patchan, who had dropped his body fat to 9 percent. "We've all seen improvements, whether it's guys able to gain weight or guys need to lose weight or guys just looking to lose fat and look better."
The nutrition program has made things easier for incoming strength and condition coach Gus Felder. He said it was the first thing he noticed was missing when he arrived in January. He said an unhealthy diet negates anything he is trying to accomplish.
"You have to eat right," Felder said. "For the best long-term recovery, injury prevention, you've got to have great nutrition.
Felder, too, is placing an early stamp on the program. He was forced to handle the task of replacing long-time strength coach Andreu Swasey, who was not retained when Richt was hired. What Felder has tried to accomplish more than anything is building strong relationship with players, as Swasey did for 15 seasons. Swasey's dismissal was met with disappointment from former and current players, but Felder is here with hopes of taking the strength and conditioning program to a higher level.
"This is what we do," said Felder, who spent two seasons with Richt at Georgia. "It's so much more to ask a guy to put 500 pounds on his back multiple times, or to push a heavy sled. You've got to have a relationship, you can't just grind on someone and then have them go do that."
One of the biggest changes made by Felder is having players lift by position. The quarterbacks all work together on similar programs. Each position coach is also present for workouts.
"We all have a set time to go in there," quarterback Brad Kaaya said. "All the quarterbacks are lifting with me. I'm not doing the same lift as our tight ends are. Everyone has specified lifts ... It's been great."
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