We just returned from the first soccer tournament of the fall and I did so well. I only forgot ONE thing (important thing, but just ONE). On the 2nd day, I forgot my daughters knee brace. She played fine without it and thankfully didn't reinjure the knee; fortunately it was not truly required, she was just wearing it for extra support following a minor sprain on Tuesday. Yeay me!!
I can't even remember if I put that on my list in the previous post.... if not, add: every piece of protective, support, physical therapy wraps, braces, splints, etc. that you could possibly need.
Showing posts with label packing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label packing. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Things to Pack for a Weekend Sports trip with your Youth Athlete
Subtitle: You didn’t have to pack this much crap when they were infants….
1) SUV or Minvan—required to carry one kid plus items #2-30
2) Sports specific equipment and uniform pieces in every color…Ex. If you are going to a girls soccer tournament, in the uniform category alone, you will need to bring: all 3 colors of jerseys, all 3 colors of shorts, all 3 colors of socks), cleats, shinguards, sports bra, hairbands (of all 3 colors), headbands (of all three colors), soccer bag, and ball. If you are the parent of the keeper, add goalie jerseys (2), goalie pants or shorts, gloves (2 pair).
And soccer has way less equipment than most…imagine your vehicle if your kid is on a hockey or football team, or is a pole vaulter, or a horseback rider (yes, you have to bring your own horse for most shows).
3) Cooler—filled with Gatorade, water, grapes, other fruit that is easy to keep and fun to throw
4) Igloo waterbottle-1 quart size at least
5) The kids (and your) other clothes like pajamas, underwear, jackets, flip flops, etc
6) Chairs for watching the game
7) Your kids regular medicine…who can forget that tournament that someone forgot their child’s Ritalin? Seriously, see #22
8) Sunscreen
9) Advil, Tylenol
10) Band-aids, Neosporin
11) Home skin stitches kit
12) Hats and sunglasses for parents watching the game in the 105 heat
13) Car Paint, in case you win the tournament so you can drive home in an embarrassing show of glory
14) Sports Magnets
15) Camera, Video Camera, film, batteries and battery chargers
16) MapQuests (or Google Maps)—before the trip it is extremely PRUDENT to get the address of your hotel, your field, court, rink, sportsplex, wherever the games will be location, and the restaurant you are having your team dinners at. Then create and print out maps from home to hotel, hotel to fields, etc. It’s even more PRUDENT to actually bring these on the trip (I have a mental block on that step for some reason). Or…if you have have a GPS navigator system in your car, all you need are the addresses, no need for printing out.
17) List of Cellphone numbers (in addition to them being plugged into your cellphone) for the other parents, coaches, and teammates for when you or they are lost or your team caravan from field to restaurant gets split up
18) Earplugs
19) Hotel with bar
20) Valium or any other member of the Diazepam family
21) Back-up hotel in case you get kicked out of the original one (high likelihood)
22) Bathing suits and goggles for siblings of the athletes- One of the very few BENEFITS for the poor siblings who must be dragged to these events is that they get to swim in the hotel pool and the athletes don’t. It certainly doesn’t make it worth it to them, but at least they have the POOL.
23) Deck of cards, magazines, games (remember the games or events are often just a small portion of the day, you must find a way to fill the rest of the day with “quiet, resting” type activities…Not Allowed are: swimming, working out in the hotel weight room, one coach even banned going to the mall as it was too much walking, and running up and down the halls or stairs of the hotels, etc.
24) Extra set of car keys (don’t ask)
25) IPod/Blackberry/Laptop and all associated battery chargers and A/C adaptor cords
26) DVDs if you are lucky enough to have a vehicle with a DVD player
27) Gameboy or Nintendo DS
28) Your Subway Club Card, cause that’s the only friggin’ restaurant you’re allowed to eat at between games or events.
29) Lots and lots of money and credit cards.
30) The kid
1) SUV or Minvan—required to carry one kid plus items #2-30
2) Sports specific equipment and uniform pieces in every color…Ex. If you are going to a girls soccer tournament, in the uniform category alone, you will need to bring: all 3 colors of jerseys, all 3 colors of shorts, all 3 colors of socks), cleats, shinguards, sports bra, hairbands (of all 3 colors), headbands (of all three colors), soccer bag, and ball. If you are the parent of the keeper, add goalie jerseys (2), goalie pants or shorts, gloves (2 pair).
And soccer has way less equipment than most…imagine your vehicle if your kid is on a hockey or football team, or is a pole vaulter, or a horseback rider (yes, you have to bring your own horse for most shows).
3) Cooler—filled with Gatorade, water, grapes, other fruit that is easy to keep and fun to throw
4) Igloo waterbottle-1 quart size at least
5) The kids (and your) other clothes like pajamas, underwear, jackets, flip flops, etc
6) Chairs for watching the game
7) Your kids regular medicine…who can forget that tournament that someone forgot their child’s Ritalin? Seriously, see #22
8) Sunscreen
9) Advil, Tylenol
10) Band-aids, Neosporin
11) Home skin stitches kit
12) Hats and sunglasses for parents watching the game in the 105 heat
13) Car Paint, in case you win the tournament so you can drive home in an embarrassing show of glory
14) Sports Magnets
15) Camera, Video Camera, film, batteries and battery chargers
16) MapQuests (or Google Maps)—before the trip it is extremely PRUDENT to get the address of your hotel, your field, court, rink, sportsplex, wherever the games will be location, and the restaurant you are having your team dinners at. Then create and print out maps from home to hotel, hotel to fields, etc. It’s even more PRUDENT to actually bring these on the trip (I have a mental block on that step for some reason). Or…if you have have a GPS navigator system in your car, all you need are the addresses, no need for printing out.
17) List of Cellphone numbers (in addition to them being plugged into your cellphone) for the other parents, coaches, and teammates for when you or they are lost or your team caravan from field to restaurant gets split up
18) Earplugs
19) Hotel with bar
20) Valium or any other member of the Diazepam family
21) Back-up hotel in case you get kicked out of the original one (high likelihood)
22) Bathing suits and goggles for siblings of the athletes- One of the very few BENEFITS for the poor siblings who must be dragged to these events is that they get to swim in the hotel pool and the athletes don’t. It certainly doesn’t make it worth it to them, but at least they have the POOL.
23) Deck of cards, magazines, games (remember the games or events are often just a small portion of the day, you must find a way to fill the rest of the day with “quiet, resting” type activities…Not Allowed are: swimming, working out in the hotel weight room, one coach even banned going to the mall as it was too much walking, and running up and down the halls or stairs of the hotels, etc.
24) Extra set of car keys (don’t ask)
25) IPod/Blackberry/Laptop and all associated battery chargers and A/C adaptor cords
26) DVDs if you are lucky enough to have a vehicle with a DVD player
27) Gameboy or Nintendo DS
28) Your Subway Club Card, cause that’s the only friggin’ restaurant you’re allowed to eat at between games or events.
29) Lots and lots of money and credit cards.
30) The kid
31)*ziplock bags
32)*ice
33)*garbage bags
34)*toiletry case and everything in it
35)*books/mags for mom to read, People/US other are great to buy and read and share w/other moms....when else do you have 48 hours to do nothing but catch up on Lindsay Lohan, Brittany and whoever happens to be hot at the moment.
36)*kids backpack and homework and novel so s/he can get homework and required reading done in the car or hotel
37)* every piece of protective/corrective equipment you could possibly need (ex. knee braces, ankle braces, splints, prewrap, shoe inserts, Ace Bandages, etc)
I have at one time or another forgotten nearly every item on this list, some of them numerous times. Actually, as I re-read over the list the only one I haven’t ever forgotten is #1, which would be impossible. So, clearly I’m an experienced idiot. I even forgot #30 once, not actually my kid, but a kid I’d promised to take to a softball tournament….nice, huh!? I guarantee there are at least 3 critical items missing from this list….as I remember and add I’ll put them in red and with asterisks next to them.
The good news is there is a Wal-Mart in every town and the coach forgot to specifically say “No going to Wal-Mart”, so that is often how we fill our time between games. Good Luck!
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