Yay, spring sports! Where the weather can flip-flop mid-game and the fields can be perfect for a mud race in the blink of an eye.
To help you {and the rest of your cheer squad!} have a successful season as a fan/player and a little less stress I’ve rounded up 21 tips from veteran spring sports parents in the Mid-Michigan area:
1.) Keep sweaters, jackets, and blankets in 2 bags in the back of your car. 1 bag for blankets and 1 for sweaters and jackets. You never know when the 75 and sunny days will feel a lot chillier, especially when wind picks up on a large soccer field or Baseball complex OR because we live in Michigan and weather can easily drop 30 degrees in a matter of hours!
2.) Layer up and bring extra socks for your players. Invest in an undershirt that your player can wear under their jersey that wicks the water off the skin, you can also find pants or leggings to help keep them warm while playing or racing in shorts. Especially for those
early spring games. On wetter and muddier days having a change of dry socks mid-game can help cheer up any cold kiddo.
3.) Wagons! These are your best friends for getting chairs, snacks, blankets, gear, and kiddos to and from fields. There are a lot of styles out there but our family favorites are the Ozark Trail Folding wagon and Wonderfold W4 Wagon.
4.) Keeping the car clean can be a big challenge, bring a wet bag, grocery sack, or garbage bag to put wet and muddy clothes and shoes into for the drive home and to keep the car clean. Another tip is to bring garbage bags or towels to protect your seats.
5.) Use a Shower caddy for cleats. Have your player ride home with their cleats in a shower caddy on the floor or take them off and slide on some sandals. The caddy can be hosed out from all the mud and dirt.
6.) Invest in slide-on sandals or crocks that kids can wear with their sports socks to and from games. These are amazing for tournaments or if you are back-to-back with sibling games and kids don’t want to wear cleats all the time.
7.) Activity bucket or bags for younger siblings at your best friend! Some of our favorite fillers are bubbles, chalk, coloring and sticker books, extra soccer ball, ball to toss, ball toss games, hot wheel cars, mini magnetic blocks, and toys that can be played with in the dirt. This set of toys is only played with at the games and then put up when we get home. Other items we see all the time are scooters, butterfly nets, magnifying glasses, beads and string, barbies, and balance bikes.8.) Dinner on the go! Save yourself from stopping at fast food and pack dinner. We love our bento boxes and pack one per person. We have dinner in them several snacks and a drink. Our Cooler also carries everyone’s water bottles. extra snacks, a jumbo Water bottle we use to refill water bottles, a trash bag (grocery sack), baby wipes, and silverware.
9.) Basic First aid kit, meds & Icepacks. We have had a share of ball field injuries and although the coaches carry kits we like to have one on hand for opps moments for those watching,
10.) Designated sports bag for each kid. Water bottle, home and away uniforms, extra socks, cleats, ball and gloves, sunglasses, hair ties Bug Spray and sunblock.
11.) Pop up Canopy to sit under when it rains or is super hot and sunny out. Another option is getting a Jumbo Umbrellas or Gulf umbrellas to hold over yourself.
12.) Sunblock & Bug Spray! These are a must in Mid-Michigan Spring. Add in a hat or visor and sunglasses to keep the sun off your face as you enjoy the game.
13.) Portable fans and misters to help everyone feel cooler under the hot sun. Misters are great for cooling off players between innings or quarters.
14.) Portable battery packs for phones, especially for those tournaments that take all day.
15.) Popsicles, otter pops, icees! These are amazing to cool off during the games for fans but they are a hidden blessing to have in the cooler for when players are getting overheated on the field.
16.) Tablets loaded with games and movies for between spring sports games, calming down meltdowns from long days or just because.
17.) Portable speaker. Some amazing travel ones can clip to your cooler or backpack. Crank up some tunes during warm-ups, between games, or as batters are taking the plate.
18.) Portable heater pack. Grab a set of rechargeable hand warmers to take on those cold mornings that always seem to happen during spring sports. You can also find heated chairs and blankets that travel as well.
19.) Waterproof or picnic blankets. These are amazing for kids to sit on and play or to lay out on wet bleachers.
20.) Bleacher chairs to save your back and sit in comfort (they even come heated!)
21.) Comfy lawn chairs for you and the littles. We love our kids’ chairs that lock once set up so we don’t have to worry about the chairs folding in on our kids. They even make them in bench (double) versions!
Tell us what are your best tricks to survive spring sports?
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