Roaming the sidelines at the Super Bowl wasn’t what sports nutritionist Stephanie Coppola expected early in her career – much less twice in four years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Coppola, an NC State alumna, serves as the Eagles’ performance nutrition coordinator. After completing a Gatorade-funded fellowship with the team, she was hired as a full-time assistant coordinator, then promoted to head dietitian a year ago.

We asked Coppola why she came to NC State from Boston, how she decided on a career in sports nutrition, what’s helped her achieve her goals and what she carries in her bag for the Super Bowl.

What’s your role during a Super Bowl?

I work on the sidelines for the game, walking up and down, hydrating the guys with carbohydrates, with electrolytes, with water. I carry extra snacks in my bag in case someone needs something. I have caffeine. I don’t have the luxury of watching in the stands, but I have the luxury of being on the sideline and getting to help the players.

What was your job like in the last few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl?

We came to New Orleans a whole week before the game, but prior to that, we had to make sure we had everything set to ship and for the trucks to drive down so it was here when we arrived. That includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, everything for an entire week. We had to send the menus over to the hotel to approve and ask any questions that they might have.

We had everything packed and ready to go for practices as well: different protein shakes, snacks, granola bars, electrolytes, drinks, all of that. And then we had to pack for game day. So we had three different packing lists just to get ready for the week down here.

It’s all about making sure that the guys are fueled and ready to go. A big thing is the temperature is completely different than what we’re used to in Philadelphia. It’s 75, hot and humid down here, whereas it might be in the 20s and 30s up in Philadelphia. That means the guys need to be well-hydrated with fluids and electrolytes at practice and throughout the day.  

What are some of your other responsibilities during the season?

I’m making sure that the athletes are fueling their bodies with hydration, electrolytes, supplements and food to be able to play to the best of their ability during the game for the full 60 minutes. A lot of that prep work happens during the week during practice, testing out different things so when they’re out there, they can just play without worrying about cramping or getting too fatigued because they have enough carbohydrates in their body.

Obviously a running back is going to be different than a punter or an offensive lineman. So I’m working with each individual player on their needs.

I work with guys that are return-to-play – injured players – whether it’s a short-term injury for a couple of days to a couple of weeks, to long-term injury for a couple of months. I’m making sure that they’re not gaining too much weight, losing too much weight, losing too much muscle, especially if it’s a long-term recovery.

I’ll work with the athletes to make sure that their bodies are getting what they need, whether it’s supplements, protein, carbohydrates, so that their body is able to properly heal and ideally heal faster, so that they’re able to get them back onto the field and help our team. I’m working with the strength and conditioning coaches, sports science, medical staff and athletic trainers. We all collaborate to make sure that the athlete is healing and able to do what’s needed. 

You’re from the Boston area. What brought you to NC State?

I’d been to small private schools my entire life. My graduating high school class had 62 kids in it. And so I never had a football team. I never had big sports, and I wanted to go to a big D-1 school and I wanted to stay along the East Coast. And when I applied to schools, I realized that I wanted to go to a college that was in a city. NC State was actually the only one in a city. And I loved it! I was down there for six years because I did my four years of undergrad at NC State, including working with the Athletics Department as a senior. And then I was a graduate assistant with NC State Athletics while I did my two years of grad school at Meredith [College] down the road. 

What made you decide to pursue a career in sports nutrition? Are you an athlete yourself?

I played high school sports and I played sports my entire life. I actually went into NC State undecided, in First Year College, where one of the assignments was to interview someone about their career. I signed up with Kate Callaway, who was the sports dietitian at NC State [from 2012-14]. Kate is now actually the Carolina Panthers’ dietitian, so it’s a small world. I work with her now. 

I interviewed her and thought, wow, this was really cool. I didn’t even know that this was an option. And so when I was finishing up my freshman year and deciding what I wanted to do, between nutrition and dentistry, I decided to go with nutrition.

What experiences at NC State helped you achieve your goals?

As a student in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, I was a part of the Nutrition Club and met Natalie Ford [now Faustyn], who’s now the head dietitian for the football program with NC State Athletics. We were in the same undergrad class. In our capstone course, we did a project together, and we were GAs together. 

Starting as a senior, for two and a half years, I was able to work with NC State Athletics, mostly with football and men’s and women’s basketball. I helped with some of the other sports as well. My last year of grad school, I was traveling with women’s basketball at all of their games and doing all of their home games. And then my first year of working with football, I went to the Belk Bowl and helped with that. And then after doing my dietetic internship, I did one of my rotations with the University of Maryland with their athletic department.

Right when my dietetic internship was finished, I was able to do an internship with the Eagles through the Sports Nutrition Immersion Program. They partner with Gatorade every year to put new dietitians into a fellowship program. I ended up interning with the Eagles for the 2018-19 season, and then they hired me on full time. I was an assistant performance dietitian up until last February. When the former head of performance nutrition left to work for the Colts, they promoted me to head dietitian with the Eagles.

What advice would you give to an NC State student who’s interested in a career in sports nutrition?

I definitely recommend becoming a part of the American Sports and Performance Dietitians Association (ASPDA). I think it might be $50 for students. They have listservs, job boards and internship boards and social media posts that people can follow. Every year, they have a student bootcamp. It’s normally in January/February, and they go to a different college or location every year. A bunch of different students get together and learn from different dietitians and lectures. Every May ASPDA has an annual conference that brings people together from all over the country. You get education, but then it’s a really good resource for networking.

I do think being a part of that group is really helpful as well as just getting hands-on experience. And so if they’re able to work with, first, NC State, if they’re able to work with the Athletics Department in sports nutrition and get hands-on experience, that’s where you’re going to learn the most. Yes, you’re going to learn in the classroom, but you’re going to learn even more by doing, by working with athletes and sports dietitians. It helps you figure out if that’s what you want to do before you’re actually committed to the career.

I always tell everyone, treat an internship – or even if it’s a day of shadowing someone – treat any experience you have as if it’s full-time because you never know who’s watching, and you just never know what opportunities could come from it.