Featured Programs
By no means does this program truly replace what a sports nutritionist can do by physically being there to help your athletes. However, hiring a sports nutritionist may not be in your budget—this program is the next best thing.
Anyone on your staff can implement this program. You can even hire a dietetics student that needs experience to implement the program for you at no cost. I’ve seen bits and pieces of SN information out there but the time it takes to research and piecemeal a program together would be frustrating.
To have an “All-In-One” program is not only convenient but beneficial to all. Online, there’s a huge opportunity for scale and to make a bigger impact. Implementing a sports nutrition program will increase the overall health of athletes which will carry over into optimal performance. Nutrition knowledge can influence dietary choices which can have a significant impact on athletic performance.
Benefits or Improved Performance Indicators can include but not limited to:
- Training harder/longer
- Delay onset of fatigue
- Improved body composition
- Improved strength
- Enhanced concentration/mental alertness
- Recovery (prepared for next day)
- Reduced risk of injury
- Healthier immune system/function
- Cramps/GI distress
- Healthy eating doesn’t discriminate with age, sex, etc.
"Amy’s wealth of knowledge and detail-oriented approach to nutrition helped our team in a multitude of ways. She tailors nutrition plans to each player’s needs and does an amazing job working with athletes in a professional and personable manner. Her guidance on healthy and creative food options made our players better informed and better positioned to succeed. Amy is committed and passionate about her profession, and we are thankful to have worked with her."
—Peter Vermes, Manager of Sporting KC
Hi, I’m Amy Dirks
I can remember, as a young girl, asking my mom to buy me separate groceries that were healthier or “fat-free” (when that craze was in full bloom) because, although I didn’t know much about the science of nutrition, I knew there had to be a better way to eat. My grandmother used to cook for the whole family and I loved watching her and helping out in the kitchen. When I cook now, I think of my grandmother—I picked up some of her habits of eye-balling ingredients and adjusting recipes with a pinch of this and a handful of that. She knew most of them by heart so no need for measuring—just adjusting to taste!
My first job growing up (besides chopping cotton and baby-sitting) was in the local grocery store of my small, rural hometown. In a way, food and nutrition seemed innate for me. I was always interested in it. Playing Division 1 volleyball, I chose a major in Physical Education with an emphasis on Exercise Science because it was the closest thing to Dietetics the university offered. I experimented a lot with food and supplements as an athlete, but was always frustrated with the lack of resources or expert leaders to help athletes in the process. (Read more of my personal health journey in the Blog section). Today, I’m proud to serve as an expert leader for others! Before taking on the role as Sports Performance Dietitian-Nutritionist for Sporting KC’s MLS team (as well as their USL team—Swope Park Rangers—and Sporting’s Youth Academy), I worked in the many paths a dietitian's role can lead to. My first internship was for a multi-disciplinary chiropractic group where I was later hired to train and assist rehabbing patients. From there, I was a Fitness Specialist for a 1,000+ employee company where I taught group fitness classes, nutrition, and personal trained and continued to work in corporate wellness for many years after. As I was working in corporate wellness, I chose to go back to school to complete a certificate of completion program in Nutrition and Dietetics so I could finally pursue the nutrition career I had always wanted from early on. I worked as a WIC Nutritionist for the experience and after my dietetic internship was complete, I passed the RD exam and worked for the local hospital of the smaller city where we were living at the time. I continued working PRN for the hospital while I volunteered for the sports teams at the Division II university. I wanted to give back to sports, which had given me such a great life growing up. In the meantime, we had two daughters and eventually decided to move back to Kansas City for work purposes. My husband is a Family Practice Physician, but has now converted to a more functional/integrative medicine mindset after struggling with some of his own health issues. He FINALLY started listening to me (after years of butting heads) when it comes to “you are what you eat, digest and absorb” and another important reality: food is medicine.
Before Sporting, I was training clients and doing nutrition consults but was also a member of a progressive wellness team that consisted of chiropractors, massage therapists, TRX trainers, yoga and pilates instructors, Crossfit instructors, a physician (my hubby) and myself as a trainer and dietitian. We provided concierge wellness to high profile clients by helping them adopt a healthier lifestyle overall, but got very specific to their specific and demanding needs. I have worked with athletes, elderly, kids, women, men, and any other “client” that came my way. A diet is not a fad nor is it temporary. It is a lifestyle you have to see yourself doing everyday for the rest of your life or else you will not stick with it. Therefore, it has to be personalized. There’s no one diet better than others, but there are lots of pros and cons to each. Deciphering through all of the information that they throw at you from all the media outlets can be challenging! Nobody has time for that, people just want to know the right things to eat! Deep down, I think we all know what foods to incorporate, but struggle letting go of the convenient, processed foods. May we get back into our kitchens, which is truly the best pharmacy you have.