The first travel tournament we did, I forgot the cooler. The second one, I forgot the chairs. The third one I remembered everything except the first-aid kit, which is when one of the kids took a ball to the lip and we drove 20 minutes to a CVS.

Here is the list we now keep taped to the inside of the tournament bag.

For your kid

  • Game uniform (top, pants, socks, belt) — TWO sets if it’s a multi-day tournament with mud
  • Cleats
  • Helmet (in protective bag)
  • Glove
  • Bat (if they bring their own)
  • Hat
  • Mouthpiece
  • Cup (if applicable)
  • Water bottle (the team’s, with their name on it)
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat or visor for between games
  • Snack bar for between games (granola, apple, peanut butter sandwich, NOT candy)
  • A change of clothes for after the last game
  • A book or device for downtime between games

For yourself

  • Folding chair
  • Cooler with ice, water, sports drinks, snacks for the family
  • Sunscreen for adults
  • Sunglasses
  • A hat
  • A sweatshirt for early morning or late night games
  • A poncho (rain happens)
  • A book or magazine
  • A portable phone charger (the parent who can’t follow GameChanger because their phone died is the saddest parent at the tournament)

For the team

  • Coolers for the team water/Gatorade
  • Team first-aid kit (bandaids, ice packs, athletic tape, ibuprofen, allergy meds)
  • Team scorebook (paper backup if the league uses GameChanger)
  • The lineup sheets for every game
  • Snack bag (if you signed up for snack)
  • Trash bags

The hotel essentials (for multi-day)

  • Hotel-friendly soap, shampoo, towel for any kid who’s swimming in the hotel pool
  • Phone chargers for everyone
  • A power strip (hotel rooms never have enough outlets for the family + chargers)
  • Pre-packed lunches for the second day (most hotel breakfasts close at 9 and the games start at 8:30)
  • Quarters for laundry if the team has muddy uniforms

What to leave at home

  • The travel team binder of stats and schedules. Nobody opens it.
  • Camp chairs for everyone in the family. One folding chair per parent is enough.
  • Anything fragile. Tournament parking lots are rough.
  • A second set of cleats. They were always the wrong size by the second day.

The morning-of routine

Pack the car the night before. The 6:30 AM departure goes from 45 minutes of stress to 15 minutes of stress.

Eat breakfast at home, not at the hotel. The hotel breakfast is slower than you think. You will be late to warmup if you rely on it.

Send the location and parking instructions to the group chat the night before. Half the team will get lost otherwise.

Bring TWO water bottles per kid. They lose one. Always.

A small honest note

You will forget something at every tournament. There is no list complete enough to prevent it. The list is just to forget less.

— Maren