Liberty Director of Athletics Jeff Barber has announced the hiring of Lauren Jones as the athletics department’s Director of Sports Nutrition.
“It is a blessing to be able to add a full-time Sports RD (Registered Dietician) to our staff,” said Barber. “This is a new and growing area among college athletics and will prove to be a valuable asset to the success of our student-athletes. Lauren comes to Liberty highly recommended by the top sports nutritionists in the country and we are excited to have her join our family.”
Liberty started its sports nutrition program three years ago under the direction of Donna Barber. Her efforts during the last three years have established sports nutrition policies and procedures within each of the athletics programs, a vital step in setting the stage for Jones’ addition to the athletics department.
Jones will be responsible for all nutrition and performance-related concerns for Liberty’s student-athletes including individual and team counseling, body composition analysis, recovery nutrition plans, grocery store tours, training table menu planning, travel meal arrangements, managing the fueling station and supplement education.
“The athletics staff at Liberty is so passionate about helping athletes succeed in all aspects of life and are very supportive of each other,” commented Jones. “It’s clearly a very special place and I wanted to be a part of that type of culture. I’m excited to build up the Flames’ Sports Nutrition Department and fuel our athletes to perform their best.”
Jones comes to Liberty after having served as a sports nutrition intern at Tennessee since January.
During her time with the Volunteers, Jones was responsible for all the nutrition needs for men’s and women’s tennis, track & field, volleyball, swimming & diving, rowing and men’s and women’s golf.
She also has assisted with the day-to-day nutrition needs of Tennessee’s football program, including pre-lift/practice fueling, post-lift/practice recovery, preparing individualized protein shakes based on body composition goals, training table attendance and meal choice guidance.
Prior to her internship at Tennessee, Jones served one year as a contract dietitian at the Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio.
Jones graduated from Kent State with a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics in 2011 with magna cum laude honors.
Jones was a four-year starter on the Golden Flashes’ volleyball team, earning Academic All-MAC Team honors in 2008 and 2010 and All-MAC Freshman Team honors in 2007.
Jones finished her playing career at Kent State ranked fourth in program history in service aces per set (0.41), sixth in career digs (1,150) and 10th in career service aces (124). She was a high school All-American at East Kentwood High School in Kentwood, Mich., and was named Michigan’s “Miss Volleyball” in 2007.
Jones received her Master of Science degree in Sports Nutrition from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs in 2013. She worked with both Olympic and collegiate athletes, which included team talks, hydration testing and nutrition education events and workshops. Her graduate study, Weight Management Practices of the 2012 Olympians in Combat Sports, was published in the International Journal of Wrestling Science in March of 2012.
The Michigan native also completed a 1,200-plus hour dietetic internship at Ohio State in 2014. During her internship, Jones assisted with Ohio State’s football game day nutrition and the team’s freshman breakfast club. She also assisted with grocery store tours and individual nutrition consults with several others sports.
Jones is a Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians association member, while as well as an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics member.
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