Shes never thrown a 45-yard pass, tried to block a blitzing linebacker or drawn up the Xs and Os of zone pass coverage, yet Jennifer Gibson is right there on the Chicago Bears sideline for every practice and game. Tucked among the behemoth linemen, coaches and training staff is a fit, 36-year-old Canadian with long, blonde hair dressed in Bears colors whos in her second season as the teams sport science coordinator and sport dietitian. Her goal: to help every athlete on the roster perform at his highest level.Gibson came to the Bears after several years working with the U.S. and Canadian Olympic programs, guiding many athletes to the medal stand. Shes also worked with teams and athletes in professional soccer, tennis and the NBA. She has a degree in nutrition, is a registered dietitian, has a masters in exercise science and is a graduate of the International Olympic Committees sport nutrition program. Seeing a sport dietitian at a leadership conference piqued her interest. The combination of liking science and growing up in an Italian family played a factor, too. I liked food, Gibson says. I was trying to find a career path that blended the two, and there it was.She works with coaches and training staff to develop fueling and recovery plans for every player on the Bears roster. Over her career shes helped athletes lose weight and gain weight.A former standout high school three-sport athlete (cross country, volleyball and softball) in Toronto, Gibson continues to stay active. She runs or cycles every day and also does yoga three to five times per week. She works daily at the Bears facility in Lake Forest, Illinois. She and her husband live in the Chicago area with their two dogs.Here is Gibsons story, in her words:Feeding the BearsAs sport dietitian, Im responsible for anything involving food for the guys. All their nutrition needs from handling the cafeteria here -- where we feed them twice a day -- to all our food on the road: hotel meals, plane meals, postgame meals, pregame meals, locker room food and individual plans for the guys. Also, individual strategies for hydration and recovery.Whats on the menu?What youre trying to do is satisfy the needs of a delegation of up to 130 to 150 people. You want to make sure theres something for everybody. Plus, guys have routines and habits, especially for pregame meals. You just want to make sure everyone has what he needs. We also accommodate food allergies or intolerances. We had a player last season for a short period who was a vegan. Our scoops in our cafeteria are pre-measured to make it easy. Theres a whole lot of science that goes behind their (individual meal) plans, but when it gets to the players level its about, three scoops of this and two scoops of that.Counting caloriesIt was an interesting transition for me here, because I came in from Olympic combat sports. I was dealing with wrestlers cutting weight. So youre managing really small calorie budgets and then, coming to football, youre sometimes on the opposite of that for bigger guys. So when youre doing meal plans for 6,000 calories, youre kind of going, Wow, this is crazy. As you can imagine, we go through a lot of food here.Individual plansIts not mandatory that our guys have an individual meal plan. But like all teams in the league, we have mandatory weight targets the guys have to meet. So that lends itself to making sure I touch base with almost every single one of our players. You get to know each other pretty quickly. For sure, there are guys with 100 percent buy-in and guys that are 5 percent in. But there are few guys that are 0 percent in.This isnt TimbuktuArranging team meals on the road isnt that difficult. I used to travel around the world with the Olympic teams. Id try to set up food in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China and remote villages in Europe, with language barriers and crazy things. So this is pretty easy. Were in the United States.Helping them healWe have a big emphasis here on anti-inflammatory foods because the players bodies are getting beat up all the time. So we have lots of fruits and vegetables, we have a juice bar, we have healthy, fatty fishes and nuts as snacks. We try to incorporate all those anti-inflammatory foods and have them available as snacks and in the cafeteria all day.Following her own adviceI have this joke that no one trusts an out-of-shape or overweight sport dietitian. I do eat a healthy diet. Its not that Im a food [stickler], either. Definitely theres 5 percent of my diet that I just enjoy whatever I want. But the bulk of it is absolutely what I preach.Science and techOur general manager, Ryan Pace, wanted to build our sport-performance department out a bit. My job as sport science coordinator is to investigate areas that are a bit non-traditional to improve performance. For example, we brought on a sports psychologist. And were using GPS technology. My job is to be aware of the research and trends so we can take a progressive approach.Tracking movement, sleepThe GPS trackers give us a sense of what theyre doing day to day on the field. How many yards theyre covering in practice, their speed, direction. Players are tracked during the game as well so you get a sense of what the load is on the body. That can influence practice tempos and reps and the stresses were putting on guys through the week. Were also educating players about sleep and looking at ways that can be optimized. We know sleep can be a valuable asset in recovery.Adapting to different athletesYou have to learn about the physiological demands and competition demands of different sports and adapt your nutrition interventions. Olympians and pro tennis players do a lot of global travel, so optimal eating on the road is an emphasis. Football has a lot of physical trauma and impact, so recovery strategies are important. Plus you have to understand the culture of each sport. Each sport and team has a different way they go about their business, chains of command and how you need to work. You really have to spend time learning the system to achieve your goals.PioneerOne of the things that makes this a really cool job is I know with the Bears, Im the first female staff on the football operations side. Last year there were six to seven of us in the league in football operations and this year theres 12. Its neat to see, to be on the forefront.Catalyst for changeIts been a little bizarre being the first woman on this side of the building. Like, where do we put you to change? What do we get you for apparel? Are you allowed to go here? Even on the sidelines Ill be stopped sometimes and told I cant enter because they think Im media, or not being allowed in the locker room until you show them your credentials. But its neat, because you feel youre at the beginning of something.Golden momentsAt the 2012 Olympic Games in London, I worked very closely with the combat sport athletes, because they have to make weight. To be a trusted member of an athletes journey to an Olympic medal, the highest sporting achievement on the planet, is an indescribable feeling. Custom Jets Jerseys . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. 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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook wasnt entirely pleased with his 51-point triple-double two nights earlier, so he adjusted his approach.Westbrook still scored 33 points as part of another triple-double, but he focused more on his role as a facilitator on Sunday. He had 16 assists to go with 12 rebounds, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-96 to remain undefeated.Westbrook took a career-high 44 shots against Phoenix on Friday, and he criticized himself for it afterward. This time, he made 11 of 21 field goals.I thought we did a good job of running the offense, letting it work for us, he said. Getting better shots, easy shots, and it worked out for us.According to the Thunder, Westbrook joined Magic Johnson, Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history with two triple-doubles in the first three games of a season. He now averages 38.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 11.7 assists.He had a masterful game tonight -- the way he was getting everyone involved, shooting when the shots were there and playmaking for teammates, Lakers coach Luke Walton said. When we were aggressive on him, he showed today why hes one of the top point guards in the world.The Thunder have won 20 straight regular-season games when Westbrook registers a triple-double. He clinched this one, the 39th of his career, in the third quarter.Thats standard for him, Thunder center Steven Adams said. Hes a freak.Victor Oladipo added 20 points for the Thunder.DAngelo Russell and Julius Randle each scored 20 points for the Lakers.The Thunder led 58-46 at halftime, but the Lakers chipped away and pulled to 77-71 by the end of the third quarter.A putback dunk by Enes Kanter and a steal and dunk by Oladipo pushed Oklahoma Citys lead to 10 in the first minute of the fourth.The Lakers triied to hang tough.dddddddddddd Nick Young made a 3-pointer to trim Oklahoma Citys lead to 95-91 with just under five minutes remaining. Adams scored in close, and Westbrook followed with a fast break dunk after a steal by Adams to put the Thunder back in control for good.The biggest part was we had Russ, Adams said. Russ did an amazing job of just controlling us as players, and then we got everything we wanted because he was scoring the basket, and obviously, they had to overhelp.TIP-INSLakers: Randle made 5 of 6 shots in the first half, while the rest of the team made 13 of 39. ... Los Angeles shot 5 for 18 on 3s in the first half and finished 7 for 32 for the game. ... Walton was denied his first road win as Lakers coach.Thunder: Westbrook ranks second among active players behind LeBron James in triple doubles. James has 43. ... Oklahoma City had 17 assists on 23 baskets in the first half. ... Scored 34 points off 21 Lakers turnovers.STAT LINESWestbrook matched a career high with five made 3-pointers. He was 5 for 6 after making going 2 for 10 from beyond the arc against Phoenix.QUOTE OF THE NIGHTWestbrook, on upcoming road games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors: Honestly, it dont matter who we play in a back-to-back. We could play the Globetrotters, all I care. It dont matter. Our job -- were going to go out and play one game at a time and try to get a win.UP NEXTLakers travel to Indiana to play the Paul George and the Pacers on Tuesday.Thunder head west to play the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, then face the Golden State Warriors and former teammate Kevin Durant on Thursday.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP ' ' '
