Campuses:
When Carrie Peterson needs batting tips, she has a good source of expert help: her nutrition clients, the Minnesota Twins.
Peterson, who directs the dietetic internship program for graduate students in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, dreamed in college about being a nutritionist for the Minnesota Vikings, but at the time, no such job existed. She didn’t let that deter her, and today she’s the sports nutritionist for the Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves, Lynx, and for nine years, the Minnesota Wild.
Her journey to being a sports nutritionist was long and filled with various jobs including one at sports outfitter Eastern Mountain Sports. During her time there, she became interested in nutrition and athletic capabilities on extended backpacking and climbing trips. That interest turned into what she calls her ”mountain-climbing phase,” on five continents and over 22,000 feet. Around the same time Peterson became the nutritionist for polar explorer and Minnesotan Ann Bancroft.
However, Peterson was only assisting these Antarctic expeditions on the side. Her main focus was as a dietitian at University of Minnesota hospitals. In 1997, she met the Timberwolves’ medical director, who asked her to meet the Timberwolves players at their physicals and offer nutritional advice. That short meeting blossomed into doing talks with the team and working with players on meal plans, weight gain, weight loss and body-fat management.
Things snowballed from there. She added the Minnesota Lynx and Wild as clients. In 2001, after a Vikings player died from heat stroke during training camp, the team’s coaches asked her to look at nutrition during training camp and on game days, and the Vikings became another client. When she was giving a talk for the Twin Cities Marathon, she met a physician for the Minnesota Twins, and that turned into a role with the team. “See, this is how things happen; I always think ‘fine, I’ll take that. That sounds good,’ and little opportunities turn into bigger opportunities,” says Peterson. She also earned her CSSD (certified specialist in sports dietetics), a process that only a few registered dietitians complete.
What she tells professional athletes about nutrition also applies to average people. “In general, I believe all foods fit, and I try to get players to eat healthy for the most part throughout most days,” she says. But even athletes have some mistaken ideas about healthy eating. “I had to convince one of the Timberwolves players that Skittles are not actually fruit even though it said ‘mixed fruit flavors’ on the outside,” she says.
Part of her work as team nutritionist isn’t merely teaching players how to eat healthy but also how to grocery shop and cook their own food. “I can tell a guy to eat something in particular, but I never do because it always has to do with what they will eat and what they like,” she says, so she focuses on where players call home and plans their meals around that. For example, many Vikings are from the south, so they tend to like crawfish and grits, which are now on the team menu.
Even though she’s working at her dream job, she says her favorite role is directing internships. “My number-one responsibility is working here,” she says. “I love what I do with the students. I love my job. I’m very fortunate and I recognize that. And I just want to keep doing a good job for people and for myself. You’ve got to stay true to yourself.” –Veronica Hemmingsen
