The Los Angeles Chargers lead the league in nutrition management with Teamworks Nutrition. Paige Crawford, the Team Dietitian and Nutritionist, set down with us to share a few lessons from the NFL’s most engaged Teamworks Nutrition partner.
Meeting Athletes Where They Are: Nutrition Planning
While many athletes want structured meal plans to reach their goals, the reality of nutrition support is much more nuanced. Paige explains that effective nutrition support is about “meeting an athlete where they are” rather than rigid meal plans that are difficult to follow.
Teamworks Nutrition bridges this gap by providing real-time, accessible guidance that athletes can use on their phones while in the facility. For Paige, the platform serves dual purposes – giving athletes the direction they need while streamlining her behind-the-scenes nutrition management responsibilities. Teamworks Nutrition allows the team to efficiently create plans, track body composition tests, and manage nutritional data, ultimately enabling her to accomplish more in her role.
Constant Evolution: A Platform That Grows with Its Users
One of the most impressive aspects of Teamworks Nutrition has been its continuous improvement. Paige notes that the platform has improved over time since she first started using it, with numerous features added.
What stands out most to Paige is the responsiveness of the Teamworks Nutrition team to user feedback. She describes how her suggestions for new features have been incorporated into platform updates, creating a dynamic tool that evolves based on how dietitians actually use it in the field.
This commitment to innovation has made Teamworks Nutrition what Paige considers “the most powerful nutrition resource” available for working with athletes, with integrations that address the comprehensive needs of sports nutrition professionals.
Earning a Seat at the Performance Table
For sports dietitians, establishing nutrition as a core component of the performance equation can be challenging. Teamworks Nutrition has helped elevate nutrition’s importance by embedding it within team operations.
Paige highlights how the platform has integrated nutrition into injury protocols and performance team discussions. By making nutrition data easily accessible and actionable, coaches and athletic trainers can quickly understand athletes’ nutritional habits and incorporate this information into their decision-making.
This visibility has helped nutrition earn “a seat at the table” when it comes to performance decisions, allowing dietitians like Paige to more effectively influence athlete care.
Connecting the Performance Team Through Nutrition
Teamworks Nutrition serves as a powerful connector across different departments within the Chargers organization. With the medical team and athletic trainers, Paige utilizes the meal plan templates feature to create customized nutrition protocols for different injuries.
This system allows for immediate nutritional guidance following game injuries, providing actionable resources that the medical team can reference during treatment sessions. The athletic trainers appreciate having specific nutrition plans they can discuss with athletes during rehabilitation.
For strength and conditioning staff, the platform’s body composition tracking creates a seamless information flow. When performance coaches have concerns about an athlete’s physical development, Paige can quickly access their body composition data in Teamworks Nutrition and develop targeted nutrition plans to help them reach their goals.
The Chargers Lead the Way
The Los Angeles Chargers have distinguished themselves as power users of Teamworks Nutrition, demonstrating how fully embracing nutrition technology can transform athlete care. Their innovative approach shows how nutrition support can be seamlessly integrated into the modern sports organization, creating better outcomes for athletes and more efficient workflows for staff.
Through Paige’s leadership and the team’s commitment to nutritional excellence, the Chargers offer valuable lessons for organizations looking to elevate their performance through advanced nutrition management.