Former Premier League player Marc Pugh hosted a talk and practical session with the Vale’s Under 18s as part of their education programme.

• Port Vale Under 18s enjoy education session on nutrition and wellbeing with the Foodie Footballer
• Marc Pugh played over 500 career games, including 67 in the Premier League for AFC Bournemouth, and now uses his experiences to help athletes with nutrition, life skills and wellbeing as The Foodie Footballer
• The session formed part of the Under 18s’ education programme, which includes external life skills workshops from industry experts

Port Vale’s Under 18s enjoyed an education session with The Foodie Footballer, ex-Premier League star Marc Pugh, last week as part of their ongoing learning programmes.

Pugh, who made over 500 career appearances of which 67 were in the Premier League, discussed his career with the Vale’s young players, and how his awareness of nutrition and how to fuel his body gave his career longevity and saw him climb from League Two to the Premier League, winning promotion from both League One and the Championship with Bournemouth.

The session covered a range of topics around the timing of when players should eat before games to reach optimal performance and how to aid recovery through their diet. The complexity of the different nutrients within food and drink was also explained to the young players, who then spent an hour in the Vale Park kitchens with Pugh, using example recipes from the Foodie Footballer.

Academy Tutor, Rob Hare, said:

“We really appreciate Marc coming to Vale Park and spending the afternoon with the boys.

“Clearly, hearing Marc’s story and the value he placed on nutrition as his 500+ game career developed was great for the boys, who themselves aspire to be professional footballers.

“This session is one of a variety of life skills workshops we provide both internally and externally for the boys as part of their education.