Follow your passion!

In this episode, I share valuable lessons I learned along the way to being elected to the ASPDA Board of Directors in 2023. I also talk about how to get involved in the industry, what I wish I knew starting out, and so much more! If you are interested in taking your career to the next level, this episode is for you! Head to https://sportsrd.org/about-us/board-of-directors/ to learn more about the Board of Directors and all of the ASPDA programming. I am incredibly grateful for every past, present and future board member, this episode is dedicated to you. Thanks for your support along the way! 

*For context, when speaking on the episode regarding CPSDA and ASPDA: in July 2024 CPSDA was renamed to the American Sports and Performance Dietitians Association (ASPDA). The choice of “American” reflects our aspiration to elevate ourselves as the national leader in our field. “Sports and Performance” acknowledges the diverse range of practicing members, many of whom identify as Sports RDs or Performance Dietitians. Lastly, “Dietitian” reinforces our commitment to our profession as the vast majority of our members are registered dietitians and this is the clearest way to distinguish us from the plethora of nutrition gurus.

I help sports dietitians break into the field, find their niche and start their career with confidence! Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you! 

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition. Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com. For teams specific pricing, reach out to [email protected] for more information.

The Power of Negotiation! 

Taylor Lile shares multiple strategies on how to maximize your salary potential! Applying for your first full time job? Or looking for the next one? This episode is for you! Taylor has amazing advice that you won’t want to miss! 

Taylor is a Registered Dietitian and Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics with 12 years of sports nutrition experience working with professional sports including MLB, NFL, NBA G-League, MiLB and EIHL, NCAA division I collegiate, and high school athletes, and with the U.S. Army and Gatorade Sports Science Institute. And she is a 2022 World Series Champion. Taylor is the CEO of Taylored for Performance, LLC, a company that is passionate about helping athletes attain longevity in their career by improving their performance through recovery nutrition.

Taylor enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, traveling the world, and has a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines. You can find Taylor on Instagram at @tayloredforperformance. More on the nutrition support and resources Taylor provides can be found at her website at tayloredforperformance.com

✅ Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you! 

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition 

✔️Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com

WNBA Nutrition!

Mary Ellen Kelly is credentialed as a registered dietitian (RD) and board-certified sports dietitian (CSSD).  She holds a bachelor’s of science in nutrition from Boston University, where she was a 4-year member of the NCAA Division 1 varsity women’s track and field team. She earned her master’s degree in clinical nutrition from New York University and completed her formal training at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JJPVA) in Bronx, New York. 

Mary Ellen is the Team Dietitian for the 2024 WNBA Champions- the New York Liberty. She serves as Adjunct Faculty for Boston University. In 2018 Mary Ellen Kelly founded Fuel Forward, a private practice and nutrition consulting business offering nutrition-related speaking, writing, consulting, and coaching for groups and individuals. Current or former clients include but are not limited to: Baylor University, Bloomsburg University, Boston College, Boston University, Fordham University, Golf Mind & Body, LaSalle University, PWHL Boston Fleet, Regis College, University of Delaware, USA Lacrosse, and Wesleyan University. 

In 2014 she was hired into a full-time team dietitian role in the National Football League (NFL) with the Miami Dolphins and worked with them for over three years.  Mary Ellen was the Head Sports Nutritionist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and prior to UNC, she served as the Campus Dietitian/Sports Nutritionist at St. John’s University in Queens, NY.  

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition and Cheribundi

✔️Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com 🏃

✔️ Use code RDSNIPPETS20 for 20% off all orders at cheribundi.com 🍒 Sports dietitians and their teams can order at additional reduced team pricing and free shipping online at proshop.cheribundi.com

or by contacting Dan Sagers at

[email protected]

NFL Nutrition! 

Jessica Pastuf enters her fifth season with the Buccaneers and her second as the Director of Performance Nutrition.

In this role, Pastuf is responsible for educating and guiding players on how to improve their performance and recovery through optimal nutrition and fueling choices. She works with other members of the Performance Team to design strategies and implement measures dedicated to player hydration, nutrition, recovery, body composition and injury prevention. She was a member of the support staff for Tampa Bay's Super Bowl LV championship team.

Pastuf works with the club's High-Performance Chef to cultivate menus to achieve players' individual nutrition needs. As the team's Director of Nutrition, she oversees the Performance Nutrition Staff, which includes the Performance Dietitian and two Performance Nutrition interns.

Prior to joining the Buccaneers, Pastuf worked as a member of the Utah Jazz's High-Performance Nutrition team from 2019-2020. Before joining the Jazz, she was a Sports Nutrition intern with the University of Utah's athletic department.

Pastuf graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before receiving a Master of Science in Sports Nutrition from the University of Utah. In addition, Pastuf is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports dietetics (CSSD), as well as a Registered Dietician (RD).

A native of Syracuse, New York, Pastuf currently resides in Tampa.

✅ Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you! 

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition and Cheribundi 

✔️Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com 🏃

✔️ Use code RDSNIPPETS20 for 20% off all orders at cheribundi.com.  🍒 Sports dietitians and their teams can order at additional reduced team pricing and free shipping online at proshop.cheribundi.com or by contacting Dan Sagers at [email protected]

Basketball Nutrition! 

Alyson Onyon joined the Syracuse University Athletics Department as the Director of Performance Nutrition in July 2023. Onyon, spent the previous seven years at Virginia Tech where she began as an assistant director of sports nutrition in 2016 and left the Hokies as the Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Nutrition where she oversaw nutrition services for all 22 sports teams.

While at VT, Onyon managed the Student Athlete Performance Center (SAPC), an athlete-only dining facility on campus. She helped design and plan the facility as well as a new men's basketball fueling station. She worked primarily with the Hokies men's basketball and baseball programs and assisted with football nutrition operations.

During her time in Blacksburg, Onyon also spent time working primarily with women's basketball, softball, wrestling and golf.

She provided and promoted nutrition education through individual counseling sessions, team talks, cooking classes and grocery tours with Hokie student-athletes.

Onyon was a member of the ACC Healthcare Administration and Mental Health Task Force.

Prior to Virginia Tech, Onyon was a registered dietitian and performance nutrition intern at Texas A&M University in 2016 where she oversaw soccer, softball and men's and women's swimming & diving sports nutrition services while assisting with football, men's basketball, and baseball.

Onyon spent six months as a graduate student sports nutrition intern at the University at Buffalo where she counseled UB student-athletes, held drop-in office hours and developed nutrition education materials. Prior to her time in athletics at UB, she did a dietetic internship with a nutrition advanced certificate at Buffalo where she completed 1,200 hours of supervised practice within community wellness, food service and clinical nutrition realms to become a Registered Dietitian.

Her first internship was during her undergraduate time at Cornell, where she provided nutrition education for Cornell student-athletes through seminar presentations, posters, and diet assessment.

Onyon was a standout softball player at Cornell in nearby Ithaca, N.Y., where she was twice named to the All-Ivy League Softball Team, as a second team honoree in 2012 and honorable mention in 2014. She was named a NFCA Division I All-America Scholar Athlete as a senior in 2014.

A 2014 graduate of Cornell, Onyon earned her bachelor's degree in nutritional sciences with a concentration in dietetics and completed a master's degree in nutrition from Buffalo in 2015 where she also completed her dietetic internship. Onyon is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics.

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition and Cheribundi 

✅ Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you! 

This podcast is sponsored by 2Before Performance Nutrition! Use code SportsRDSnippets30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com 

Use code RDSNIPPETS20 for 20% off all orders at cheribundi.com.  Sports dietitians and their teams can order at additional reduced team pricing and free shipping online at proshop.cheribundi.com or by contacting Dan Sagers at [email protected]

High School Sports Nutrition! 

Allison Maurer is back on the podcast! Allison joined Sports RD Snippets back in June 2021 talking all about her role with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Today we talk about her current role as a sports dietitian and strength coach at the high school level! Allison has great advice on the best strategies to get your foot in the door, her take on work life balance, and why working at the high school level is so rewarding!

Allison Maurer is a veteran sports dietitian with more than 20 years of experience fueling athletes from high school, collegiate, to professional athletes.  She is the Associate Athletic Director of Student Health and Wellness at Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.  There, she oversees strength and conditioning, sports nutrition, and works closely with sports medicine on a daily basis.  She is the strength coach for baseball, softball, wrestling and girls and boys basketball, teaches sports nutrition courses, a speed/agility/plyometric class and girls weight training.  Maurer conducts team and individual nutrition counseling for all teams and individual athletes as needed.  

Previously, Maurer was the Director of Sports Nutrition and Fueling with the Pittsburgh Pirates where she oversaw nutrition operations from the major league team all the way through the Dominican Academy.  She was responsible for planning team meals on the road and executing performance nutrition for athletes.  Performance nutrition included weight gain/loss, injury recovery nutrition, recovery nutrition for pitchers, hydration testing, body composition testing and sleep.  

Before that, Maurer spent nearly nine years as the Sports Dietitian at the University of Tennessee (2007-2016) where she oversaw the performance nutrition for all sports. She performed cooking demos, grocery store tours, taught an undergraduate sports nutrition class, did team talks and individual nutrition consultations.  She also performed body composition testing and supervised a staff of 15 undergraduate and RD interns.  

From 2004-2007, Maurer was the Sports Dietitian and an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Colorado, Boulder (2004-2007).  She assisted in the weight room with football and conducted the strength training for cheer, dance, men’s and women’s golf and women’s tennis.  

Maurer served on the board of directors for The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA) for 6 years.  She is a board certified specialist in sports dietetics (CSSD), and a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS).  

She received her undergraduate degree in dietetics from Olivet Nazarene University and her masters in nutrition from Georgia State University.  She currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with her three boys, Manuel (Manny, 17), Emilio (15), and Nico (12)

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition and Cheribundi 

✅ Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you! 

This podcast is sponsored by 2Before Performance Nutrition! Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com 

Use code RDSNIPPETS20 for 20% off all orders at cheribundi.com.  Sports dietitians and their teams can order at additional reduced team pricing and free shipping online at proshop.cheribundi.com or by contacting Dan Sagers at [email protected]

Training Camp 101!

Want to get your foot in the door!? Hear the behind the scenes of an early practitioners experience in collegiate and professional football. Lessons learned, experiences gained, and so much more! 

Kendall Pozulp earned her BS in Nutrition from Benedictine University and completed her dietetic internship and combined Master's program at Loyola University of Chicago. During her master's, she gained valuable experience as a nutrition intern with the Chicago Bulls.

Following graduation, she moved to the University of Illinois, serving as the Football Nutrition Fellow. Recently, Kendall returned to Chicago and is currently working as a Training Camp Nutrition Intern with the Chicago Bears.

Kendall Pozulp's journey into sports nutrition began with her passion for figure skating, where she discovered the vital connection between food and performance on the ice. Her ultimate goal is to work with Olympic figure skaters and hockey players.

✅ Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you! 

This episode is sponsored by 2before Performance Nutrition and Cheribundi 

Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com 

Use code RDSNIPPETS20 for 20% off all orders at cheribundi.com . Sports dietitians and their teams can order at additional reduced team pricing and free shipping online at proshop.cheribundi.com or by contacting Dan Sagers at [email protected]

Get out of your comfort zone! 

50,000 Downloads!

Celebrating this milestone by sharing 50 lessons I wish I knew as a brand new sports RD. I list my top 50 lessons and go in depth into my top 5. If you’re a student or a brand new sports RD you won’t want to miss this. 

Sports RD Snippets started in 2020! Thanks for listening and spreading the word 4 years later. I appreciate you all! Cheers to 50K more! 

Check out the website www.sportsrdsnippets.com to learn more on how I can help you!

Follow along on instagram @ SportsRDSnippets

This podcast is sponsored by 2Before Performance Nutrition! 

Use code RDSNIPPETS30 at checkout for 30% off product online at www.2before.com. For team orders, contact [email protected] for more information and pricing.

Building a sustainable sports nutrition program!