Busy Moms: Check Out the Ultimate Sports Bag Check List

By Brooke de Lench

Making sure young athletes are organized and ready for games and practices can take a bit of coordination. No matter how old the athlete, those final moments before heading out the door can be filled with frantic scurrying to find items that "were there" the night before. Inevitably, at least one part of the uniform has mysteriously gone missing, as are other key items come game time.

Check out my list of sports bag essentials that will help moms and their athletes get out the door efficiently and be set for a great game or practice:

Game Essentials

-Sports gear (shoes, shin pads, goalie gloves, stick etc.)
-Clean game or practice uniform

Health and Safety

-An extra mouthguard (preferably in a plastic case or bag)
-A quick-acting ice pack for emergencies, just in case the coach forgot to do a similar bag check
-Sunscreen
-Copies of medication/eyeglass/contact prescriptions (in plastic bag or protector)
-Sports tape for injuries, which also comes in handy for quick fixes on everything from equipment to holding down flying shoe laces
-Epi pen/allergy meds/inhalers
-Emergency contact numbers

Sports Nutrition

-Shelf-stable liquid fuel for before, during and after sports activity (Example: Gatorade G Series)

Comfort

-Socks - a pair for exercise and a fresh pair for the way home. Good, comfortable socks (without holes!) can help performance and lessen the instances of tired feet, blisters, etc.
-Hand/footwarmers
-Shoes or sports sandals for after the game
-A set of dry clothes (including underwear)
-A warm-up jacket and pants, hat and rain poncho (no matter what the season)

Efficiency
-House keys
-Emergency money
-Cell phone (good chance there is no reminder needed for this one!)

Brooke de Lench is founder and editor in chief of MomsTeam.com and an athlete, coach and sports mom of three. She is one of the nation's leading experts on youth sports and author of the book "Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports." For more information, visit MomsTeam.com.