Winter athletes were offered Gatorade’s G-series products before, during, and after workouts at the athletic training room and various practice locations from Monday to Wednesday on the week of December 10.

Throughout the three days, athletes sampled energy chews, classic Gatorade drinks, as well as protein recovery shakes and beverages, each belonging to one of the three G-series categories: Prime, Perform, and Recover.

“I believe that the girls were very excited to see all the products throughout the week. It gave them extra motivation during this week of practices especially during this week of finals,” Varsity girls basketball coach Alfredo Alves said. “It gave out a positive energy. They came into practice asking ‘Coach, where’s the Gatorade stuff?’”

Energy chews, which belong in the Prime group, are meant to provide energy for exercise by providing carbohydrates and proteins for bodies to burn off during exercise. Perform consists of the Gatorade drinks that replenish electrolytes during games or practices. Protein beverages and shakes constitute the Recover category and aim to help regenerate muscles for athletes post-workout.

“[Upper School athletic trainer Jaron Olson] gave our team Gatorade Pre-game Fuel before one of our games, and I think it boosted our team’s performance that game,” JV basketball player Kevin Su (10) said.

Though most of the winter athletes were able to try out all the products, some ran into issues with accessing certain samples.

“I really liked how we had the Gatorade during practice,” Varisty soccer player Laya Indukuri (10) said. “It was really nice and refreshing. I liked the Prime a lot, but none of the others were ever there when I came to try them.”

Others felt that their athletic performance was largely unaffected by the free samples but were still thankful for the opportunity to try them out nevertheless.

“I thought G-week was a good way for athletes to sample the Gatorade products without having to buy them,” Varsity basketball player Shreya Vemuri (12) said. “It was nice to have those products before, during, and after practice. It didn’t have that much of an impact on me because I did not use the products all that much, but overall it was a great idea.”

Gatorade representative Laurie Lindner, who spoke to students in the Upper School on December 5, had introduced G-week to the Upper School with hopes of promoting healthy pre and post-workout eating through her company’s products. Since the sampling period only lasted three days, the majority of the athletes are unsure if the products have improved their health maintenance significantly.