THE AAU WEEKEND SURVIVAL GUIDE: HOW TO RECOVER & PERFORM AT YOUR BEST
There’s a rhythm to AAU weekends that most players fall into without even realizing it. Game 1 starts fast, energy is high, legs feel fresh, and everything clicks. Then the gaps between games start to stretch out. You sit. You watch other teams. Maybe you scroll for a bit, grab whatever food is nearby, and before you know it, you’re being called back to the court. Game 2 feels a step slower and by Game 3, it’s not even about playing well anymore it's about just getting through it.
What’s interesting is that almost everyone accepts this drop-off as normal. Multiple games, long days, fatigue, but when you really step back and watch closely, the athletes who stand out late in the day aren’t always the most skilled or the most athletic. They’re the ones who, somehow, look the same in Game 3 as they did in Game 1. And that’s not random, it’s awareness.
FUEL BETWEEN GAMES
A big part of this comes down to how you’re fueling and hydrating throughout the day.
When hydration slips, it shows up quickly. Your muscles lose their ability to produce efficiently, everything feels tighter, heavier, and slower. That “dead legs” feeling a lot of players get isn’t always just fatigue, it’s your body running low on what it needs to keep producing.
Hydration also affects your fascia. When you’re well hydrated, it stays more elastic and responsive (so yea…you’lll probably feel a little more bounce). When you’re not, it stiffens up, and that’s when movement starts to feel off. But, it's not just about water. Over a full day of games, you’re losing electrolytes through sweat, especially sodium and potassium. Drinking plain water isn't enough to fully replenish what your body loses. Pairing water with electrolytes is the vital step to transport that hydration directly to your working tissues. Without these minerals, fluid absorption falls short. From experience, having electrolytes throughout the day makes a noticeable difference. Options like LMNT and Re-Lyte I have used before, but even basic sports drinks or adding a pinch of salt to your water is better than doing nothing. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be consistent.
If you’ve got 2–3 hours between games, that’s enough time for a small, simple meal. Nothing heavy, just something that gives you energy without sitting in your stomach. Things like:
Rice with chicken → carbs for energy, protein for muscle support
Turkey or chicken wrap → easy to pack, balanced, not too heavy
Pasta salad with some protein → quick carbs that your body can use fast
The goal here isn’t to feel full, it’s to give your body something to work with going into the next game.
Now, if the turnaround is tighter, say under an hour, then it’s more about quick fuel.
Bananas (potassium, quick carbs)
Dates (fast-digesting sugars, great for quick energy)
Apples or oranges (hydration + light carbs)
Granola bars or honey-based snacks (quick energy source)
These are easy to get down, don’t sit heavy, and actually give you something instead of going into the next game empty.
Disclaimer: Anthony Tingley is not a licensed nutritionist. The fueling suggestions above are based on experience and general performance principles, not individualized nutrition plans.
Between Game recovery
What you do physically between games matters just as much as what you consume.
After a game, your nervous system is still ramped up and your muscles are working at a high level. When you go straight into sitting for long periods, everything drops off fast – blood flow slows and muscles tighten. At the same time, your nervous system starts to downshift. That’s why the next game can feel sluggish early on. Your brain can actually start to shut off a bit (ie focus and reaction time drop). The goal between games isn’t to do more, it’s to not completely shut down.
Staying on your feet a bit, walking around, keeping some light movement in your hips and ankles, and avoiding long periods of being completely still goes a long way. It doesn’t need to look like a full warm-up or workout, but just enough to keep your body from shutting completely off. Even small things like taking your shoes off for a bit, letting your feet relax, not being locked into the same position for hours can help more than people think over the course of a full day.
BREATHING: THE RESET MOST PLAYERS MISS
One of the simplest ways to reset between games is something almost no one thinks about, your breathing.
After a game, your body is usually stuck in a high-stress, high-alert state. Your breathing becomes faster, more shallow, and mostly chest-driven. This keeps your sympathetic nervous system (your “fight or flight” system) turned on , which is great during competition but not when you’re trying to recover.
This is where diaphragmatic breathing makes a difference.
When you breathe through your diaphragm (instead of just your chest), you create a deeper inhale that expands your rib cage and allows your lungs to fill more completely. This does a few important things:
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and recover”)
Lowers heart rate and stress hormones
Improves oxygen exchange, helping your muscles recover more efficiently
Helps regulate CO₂ levels, which plays a role in maintaining energy and preventing that lightheaded, fatigued feeling
There’s also a mechanical benefit. The diaphragm works with your core and pelvic floor, so when it’s functioning properly, it helps your body return to a more balanced, stable position after all the sprinting, jumping, and contact. If you stay stuck in shallow breathing between games, you never fully come out of that stressed state. You just carry fatigue, tension, and mental fog into the next game.
It doesn’t need to be complicated. Even 2–5 minutes can make a difference:
Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds
Let the space between your chest and abdomen expand (not just your chest or your stomach)
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 5 seconds
Keep your shoulders relaxed
You can do this sitting, lying down, or even leaning against a wall.
The goal is to bring your system back to neutral so you’re actually ready to go again. So think of it as a reset button between games.
AT THE HOTEL: A CRITICAL TIME TO RECOVER
This is where having some kind of simple routine makes a huge difference. Getting out of your shoes, letting your feet actually move, taking a few minutes to reset your body before you go to sleep — that’s what carries into day two. That’s exactly why we’ve put out things like our Daily Foot Care Routine. A simple and repeatable way to bring your body back to neutral after a long day on the court. Not to do more, but to undo some of what the day built up. A short routine at night helps shift your body out of that high-stress state. It allows your nervous system to calm down, which is what actually sets you up for better sleep. And sleep is where real recovery happens – hormone release, muscle repair, and nervous system reset.
Sleep is when your body does the majority of its actual recovery work. During deeper stages of sleep, you get increased growth hormone release, which drives muscle repair and tissue recovery. At the same time, your body is restoring glycogen stores (your primary fuel source), regulating your nervous system, and bringing stress hormones like cortisol back down to baseline. If that process gets cut short, you’re not just a little tired but you’re going into the next day under-recovered. That shows up as slower reaction time, reduced power output, and a drop in focus and decision-making.
Most players don’t need a perfect system, they just need to handle the in-between a little better. Over the course of a full weekend, that’s usually what separates the ones who stay consistent from the ones who slowly fade.