By Pat Mariboe
Senior Writer
The success of the Washington College athletes on the field and courts can be heavily attributed to their work off the field as well. One of those people working with each team’s development is Assistant Sports Performance Coach Jake Alvarez. He has dedicated countless hours to helping athletes and non-athletes alike perform to their highest standards. He joined the WC staff in the summer of 2016 and has thrived in his role ever since.
Alvarez said he was working under Matt Dorn, who is now the strength coach for Penn State Lacrosse, at Hobart William Smith Colleges in NY in the spring of 2016.
“Matt knew I was looking to relocate to a relatively warmer climate and different scene from what I was accustomed to my whole life in Upstate NY. I had never heard of Washington College, but received a call from Jonnie Jenkins, and knew that this was going to be an experience I couldn’t pass up.”
Along with his strength and conditioning work with athletes in the fitness center, Alvarez also teaches a nutrition course, which has quickly become a fan favorite for students.
“My mother told me I began reading food labels when I was about 10 years old, so I guess you can say it began around then,” Alvarez said. When he was 21, he said he really got into nutrition thanks to his own training.
“Nutrition is fascinating to me because it is so vital to our mental, emotion, and physical health. It is completely misunderstood and sometimes confusing with what is put out by the media. I wanted to crack the code, I wanted to know why I could work so hard and not get results. I wanted to know why some people could eat pizza and be lean, while others struggle to lose weight on restrictive diets.”
Alvarez said he wanted the best results and could not find clear answers with his own internet research. He decided to sign up for a Master Level Nutritional Certification through a company called Precision Nutrition based out of Canada targeted towards coaches and nutritionists wanting to teach their athletes the best way to fuel.
“I completed the course, which was supposed to last six months, in less than two months, and started applying the information in a systematic approach to my athletes. As we a saw success, Coach Jenkins asked if I would be interested in teaching a 2-credit course. I saw this as an incredible opportunity and began constructing my syllabus.”
Alvarez described the class as one of the most important classes you’ll take here at WC.
“I would tell people it’s the most useful class you’ll take in your life,” he said. “Seriously. What else will you do three to five times per day for the rest of your life? Learning how to eat is essential yet is very misunderstood, so if you want clarity on how to eat in order to be a better person, take my class.”
In the class, Alvarez touches on several different topics, such as simple portion-control guides, common misconceptions about calorie counting and the rising obesity rate in the United States. This past semester, the class watched the Netflix documentary Fed Up, which explored obesity and ways in which major corporations are targeting children through mass-marketing schemes. Alvarez also invited in Tracy Davenport, previously the owner of Tracy’s Smoothie Place, to talk about the importance of nutrition.
The most important thing about nutrition is, according to Alvarez, “awareness.”
“Learning what is healthy and what is not is the easy part,” Alvarez said. “Most people can identify what they should eat more/less of, however the major key is being able to apply it to your situation in a sustainable consistent manner. Other than that, eat real, whole unprocessed foods as much as you can, and you are winning. My grandmother is 91 years old and that is the best advice she has indirectly shown me; she is healthy and sharp as an axe.”
Whether it’s in the weight room or in the classroom, Alvarez has worked with several varsity athletes and those simply looking to improve their fitness.
“For athletes, they need to be performance based, so a lot of recommendations are built around creating sustainable energy and recovery protocols through nutrition,” Alvarez said. “I work with a lot of athletes trying to build size and mass, so they have to develop eating habits that will allow them to do so. With non-athletes, it tends to focus more on developing consistent unprocessed whole food eating, which is important for athletes too, but athletes have more wiggle room considering the energy demands they have and how quickly they need nutrients based on their training schedule. In essence, athletes need to eat more frequently, and usually more carbohydrates on a regular basis in order to keep their performance elevated.”
Alvarez has also been working hard on his other passion of lacrosse, as he will be representing Puerto Rico in the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship in Israel this summer. Alvarez played lacrosse at his alma mater of Ithaca College in New York and has played in summer leagues ever since. Alvarez was named to the 23-man squad after rigorous tryouts this past summer and is training every day to make sure he’s ready for the tournament.
Alvarez touched on the huge role that nutrition played in terms of making the team.
“It has been extremely helpful,” Alvarez said. “It is allowing me to segment my training into blocks to get the best results possible. I am able to manipulate my bodyweight in order to gain size and strength to build a strong base. Then, as July approaches, and my conditioning rapidly increases, I will have the strength and muscle established from the past training blocks to sustain me up to and through the tournament as I will inevitably drop some weight due to the demands of playing.”