Taylor Hooton Foundation > Hoot’s Corner > Podcasts > Episode 76: Role of the Sports Dietitian in the NFL – Joey Blake
July 12, 2022
Episode 76: Role of the Sports Dietitian in the NFL – Joey Blake

The ALL ME® Podcast

       Role of the Sports Dietitian in the NFL – Joey Blake

The growth of the field of Sports Dietetics has grown significantly over the past 10 years from having less than 20 full-time in the last 2000s to now over 200 full time Sports Dietitians being employed in the collegiate and professional setting. But what is their role and how important are they to the performance staff. In this podcast, we speak with Joey Blake, Director of Sports Nutrition and Sports Dietitian for Los Angeles Rams.

We dive into his career path to the NFL, what he loves about his job and the challenges that come along side of it, his day to day during the off-season and in-season and what it was like to win the granddaddy of them all, the Super Bowl. I also was able to ask him about what he thought about that No Call against my Saints in the 2019 Championship Game but you’ll have to wait until the end to see what he says.

                     

After 5 years in the trenches, Joey had a chance to celebrate a Super Bowl victory.

About Joey Blake

Joey Blake enters his sixth season with the Los Angeles Rams and his second as director, Performance Nutrition/Wellness in 2022. 

He is responsible for educating and directing all players on their nutrition and hydration related to health and performance. He has established and manages a robust food service system that has been able to change the way our players and coaches view food and performance. Blake also conducts all of the body composition testing for the players, created and implements a sleep program for players and coaches, writes all of the menus for team meals, and individualizes all of the players’ pre and post-training and on game day.

In addition to his player performance role, Blake spearheads the Rams Employee Wellness Program which is aimed to help all employees reach their best self in different avenues of health and wellness.  He is also a member of the Rams Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Prior to Los Angeles, Blake served as the director of football nutrition from 2013-16 for the University of South Carolina. At the time of his hire, Blake become the first full-time football-only sports dietitian in collegiate athletics.  During his tenure, he was responsible for planning all team meals, counseling athletes on their performance nutrition needs, analyzing body compositions, and assisted in team travel operations.

Before his arrival with the Gamecocks, Blake was brought on as a sports dietitian assistant, in May of 2013, at the University of Tennessee, where he was responsible for the nutrition needs of eight different sports as well as assisting with football.  Blake has also served as a sports nutrition intern at the University of Virginia in 2013 and at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., during the summer of 2011.

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Blake grew up near Asheville, N.C., before completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Western Carolina University in 2012.  He then completed the year-long post-graduate internship requirements to become a Registered Dietitian, as well as passing the credentialing exam.

Blake is a member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitian Association (CPSDA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). 

Resource Definitions and Links:

  • Join Gatorade Performance Partner, the first multi-disciplinary community of sports performance professionals. You’ll get access to exclusive benefits like complimentary CEUs, science-backed resources, and opportunities to discover all the latest that Gatorade has to offer. Join the community at GatoradePerformancePartner.com
  • Founded in 1985, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is committed to helping athletes optimize their health and performance through research and education in hydration and nutrition science. Learn more at GSSIweb.org

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