From cheerleading to minor league dugouts, East Brunswick native brings energy

Ashley Steinberger began cheerleading in grade school, cartwheeled into East Brunswick High School and then gave it the old college try at the University of South Carolina.

During her high school days – Class of 2014 – she also competed with travel teams, her senior year taking fifth place in the World Championships at Disney World.

In college she cheered for the Gamecocks during Southeastern Conference football and basketball games, and also traveling to cheer competitions.

“When I was little,’’ she said, “I tried gymnastics and dance, but when I tried cheerleading with my friend, I was like, ‘That’s it!’”

One could say she is still cheering, though now more quietly, more internally. And she’s still traveling.

Steinberger is now the team dietitian for the Syracuse Mets in the International League, the AAA affiliate for the New York Mets. She also comes with credentials of MS (Masters of Science), RD (Registered Dietitian) and LDN (Licensed Dietitian-Nutritionist.

Similar to her discovery of cheerleading, she unexpectedly discovered her career choice her senior year in college.

“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I couldn’t be in a job where I was sitting down. I have too much energy for that.

“Originally,’’ she said recently, speaking from the dugout before a game in Charlotte, “I thought maybe I’d be a gym teacher, a physical therapist, or exercise scientist.”

Majoring in Exercise Science, she decided to take part in a six-week program in Australia.

“The program went to different schools around the country, where we heard from health professionals and sports dieticians. I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do with my life!’ So I interned with a sports dietician at South Carolina for my whole senior year while I was cheerleading.” She added, “It was like the best experience!”

Needing a practicum to graduate, Steinberger took a job at Princeton University where she worked as a strength and conditioning/sports nutrition intern.

Next she did an internship at Columbia University, which she needed to sit for the Registered Dietitian exam after her coursework. The thesis on nutrition for cheerleading was needed to graduate.

At Columbia, her experiences included visiting numerous hospitals throughout the city, mostly working on eating disorders. She also helped in the athletic department.

Starting a private practice, she emphasized a Sports Nutrition resource for cheerleaders. “Giving back to cheerleading,” she said. “So my last rotation was basically building that up. I did a whole social media thing. I gave teen talks to local high school programs; some virtually.”

Her thesis project was somewhat of a cheering nutritionist, with an educational program for cheerleaders. With her private practice not taking off as fast as she wanted, she was unable to afford living in the city and basically surviving.

Applying then for numerous nutrition jobs, she wound up being hired by Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. With last spring’s training facility in Port Charlotte wrecked by a hurricane, the team moved their workouts to Disney’s Wide World of Sports. She then bounced back and forth to the Low A team in Charleston and their AA team in Montgomery, Alabama.

“I really like to travel, if you can’t tell,” she said with a laugh.

Now she will be traveling throughout the Northeast, the South and Midwest.

“When I was looking into jobs, and this is going to sound crazy, I realized how similar baseball and cheerleading are,’’ she said. “Basically there is a lot of standing around, it’s not like you’re moving around all the time. It’s kind of like bursts of energy. Cheerleading is between plays and is also competitive. And both are really superstitious.”

While baseball players have certain quirks like when they’re in the batter’s box or wearing the same socks during a winning streak, Steinberger said she’d hug the same people in the same order before competitions and also eat a pixie stick.

“Nutrition is so new to baseball, and it’s non-existent in cheerleading, so I want to build things from the bottom up and grow programs.”

She loves baseball now, and is a Mets fan now. Last year she was a Tampa Bay fan.

Arriving at the ballpark by noon, she remains there until the last player heads for the door.  Depending on how late the game goes, that’s generally around 11 p.m.

Her job ranges from giving hydration testing, ordering all the food, snacks and stocking the clubhouse. She plans all meals and menus. She helps players with their supplementation routines, hands out vitamins, and upon request during games provides smoothies and snacks. She also walks around with a water belt to make sure the players stay hydrated.

“I do a lot of things,” she said. Like a mom.

“Yeah, I am, kind of. Very much so.”

The 27-year-old’s short-term goal is to get to the major league level, preferably with a New York team. Though preferring baseball, football is also an interest.

“The end goal for me,’’ she said, “is having a private practice full-time, to be able to be home and spend time with family, that sort of thing. That would be the end-end goal.”

And something to really cheer about.

Paul Franklin is a freelance reporter for MyCentralJersey.com.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: East Brunswick native team dietitian for Mets minor league team