My son's (11 y.o.) Master has decided that he is going to be ready to move up to High Performance Sports Poomsae in June, and his 1st Dan test is in July. He's been training for 3 years at this point, and has been part of the competition team for a little over 18 months with 5 gold medals in various competitions in our province (Canada).
He's definitely ready to move up; there's no doubt there. Our son's Master wants him to compete at Nationals for 2027, which kind of feels surreal with how quickly time seems to have gone by. Here's a clip from one of his competitions a while back (he's the kid behind the front one): video
The one main thing that has all of us a bit nervous is that the new training sessions for Sports Poomsae are 3 hours long. He's a pretty skinny kid who takes after his dad's side of the family (he's mostly muscle at this point, really), and his current competition practice sessions are 1.5 hours long. Even those have him totally worn out by the end of practice, and we have a hard time keeping weight on him.
How can we help prepare him for the jump up in difficulty and training length? Would extra exercises or strength training on top of his regular daily poomsae practice at home be helpful? What are some good ways to help him stay fueled before practice, and what are some quick/easy snack options for the 10-minute snack break that he'll get during those longer practices? Should we consider consulting a nutritionist or dietitian going forward to better meet his needs? Any advice would be welcome!