I’m pretty sure it’s no secret that I am the mom of 3 competitive athletes. Right now we are in our busiest season. The girls are traveling a lot for volleyball and my son is in the thick of baseball. Being a travel sport parent is not for the faint of heart. By the end of April, I will have been on 12 different flights and have slept in a hotel for 14 nights! Yes it is a lot…not just a lot of time but quite a bit of money. BUT my parents did it for me and my college was paid for, so of course we pass the tradition down right?

I thought it would be fun to share some of the travel ball parent life, and who knows, maybe there are a few of you that are future travel ball parents and this will help.

First things first…learn to pack everything in carry-on luggage. Seriously, you are basically in a gym or at a field most of the weekend. You don’t need 5 pairs of shoes for that. For volleyball it’s all about COMFORT for me. Usually leggings (because every convention center is freezing), team shirt and a hoodie because well see the reason for leggings. Baseball, I’m outdoors so it’s layers because our weather is bi-polar. Trust me…use the roll method of packing and packing cubes.

Also need a great backpack that doubles as luggage. This is mine and if you don’t overpack it you can definitely fit it under an airplane seat. Also, there are straps on the side that you can cinch the bag to make it smaller. It’s AMAZING!

If you are at an event for longer than 2 days, make sure your hotel has a fridge and order groceries. Food at these things is SO expensive and you are better off making sandwiches and packing snacks in your backpack than buying that 7 dollar pretzel. Mac & Cheese at our last tourney was 14 DOLLARS! For Mac and Cheese!

The tournament you are at is probably going to say “No Outside Food or Drink”. BREAK THE RULES. Put stuff in your kids bag because they usually don’t check players. Find a good backpack with hiding places and put your hoodie in it so they would have to really did to find something. They aren’t going to take that time. BREAK THE RULE!

Plan on being up very early and going to bed very late. I’ve learned to have my outfit for the next day the night before because I’m most likely getting up at 4am so I can get dressed (in the dark) and get completely out of the girls’ way when they’re getting ready. I’m usually standing in a Starbucks line with the other parents whose girls can’t start the day without their chai latte or acai refresher whatever. Don’t call my girls spoiled because I stand in line for their breakfast at 5:30am. It’s called surviving. Trust me...you try and start their day great so YOU TOO can have a great day!

Always have Band-Aids, ibuprofen, gum, extra water, extra hair stuff in your bag, OR you find the mom that always does.

If you’re going to be an indoor sport mom, especially volleyball, get used to whistles. They actually sell ear plugs where they sell the tourney merch, but I’ve been around it my whole life so it didn’t bother me. A lot of our parents wear something in their ears to block out the constant whistles.

Lastly, enjoy it. You are going to lose sleep, and spend a ton of money, but it’s worth it. At the end of the day when your kid is standing on the medal stand with a gold medal after playing 11 hard fought games in a weekend you will forget about the flights and lack of sleep. Seeing them accomplish their goals is worth every single missed minute of sleep and dollar spent.