Welcome to the Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide! We’ve mapped out everything we could think of to help you survive this soccer season. Actually, not just to survive it, but to enjoy it too.
You might be thinking the word survival is a rather drastic choice to use in the post. As a mom with 3 kids playing soccer this season and a husband who coaches all 3 teams, it becomes survival!
But having a game plan and being organized is the best way to rock your child’s soccer season.
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Now, let’s jump right in with the most important thing on our Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide…
Soccer Moms need a good Chair
Didn’t see that one coming? It’s all good, you see I haven’t actually sat in my chair
But this year, my youngest will be starting preschool soccer. I am incredibly excited that I will be able to sit for his entire game, while my older boys watch or hang out in the park.
This chair will become your “home” for the entire soccer season, so pick one that is easy to pack & carry; bonus points if it has a place for your drink and phone.
Always plan for changing Weather
There’s always the weather factor of playing soccer, especially in the Midwest, that requires soccer moms to be on top of their planning game.
If there is anything in this Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide you should read – it’s this section.
For example, have you ever started a soccer game in flip-flops and ended it with snow in your hair? Yep, I have!
Knowing the weather forecast is even more important if you are traveling for a weekend soccer trip.
There are likely stores close to where your child will be playing, but do you really want to have to purchase hats & gloves for your entire family when you have a million of them at home? Yeah, me neither.
Keeping an eye on the weather lets you plan, and pack if needed, to avoid having a weather mishap during your soccer game.
Surviving the Super Cold Soccer Game
If you’re heading to a cold soccer game, you’ll probably want to dress yourself and your little soccer player with at least a warm hat, gloves, undershirt and maybe compression base layer pants.
Try using hand warmers to keep your fingers and hands toasty instead of frozen. Also, having warm blankets to cuddle up in can be a lifesaver too.
All about the Hot Soccer Game Survival
Now if the weather is going to be hot & humid, you’ll have better luck packing an umbrella, cooling towels, and extra water.
Going beyond a regular umbrella, sometimes a Pop-Up Canopy Tent for the team or parents is a nice way to catch a break from the beating sun.
Rain, Rain Go Away – It’s a Soccer Game Day
Unlike baseball, just because it is raining doesn’t mean that your soccer game is going to be canceled. As long as there is no lightning in your area, thanks to the introduction of turf fields, you are probably going to be watching a “rain game”.
The first thing to prepare for is your feet! Make sure you have rain boots or shoes that withstand water really well. If you’re at the soccer park for a long day, at least having dry feet will help when the rest of your clothing is wet or damp.
Next, you are going to want to plan accordingly for your soaked soccer player to need to get into your car after the game.
Things to have on hand would be towels, a trash bag (to throw muddy cleats in for the ride home) and possibly an extra set of clothes for your child.
Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide – Food
Maybe it’s because I’m raising three growing boys, but food is always a constant in the back of my mind. Where will we grab lunch? Am I in charge of preschool game snacks today?
Or even better, when the game is almost over and you start thinking about dinner. You know you still have loads of homework to help with, and showers for everyone, and making a meal just doesn’t sound possible. That’s where meal planning can be a lifesaver!
Food for the Soccer Games
First, you need to consider your duration of time at the soccer game(s). If you have one game for the day, you are probably good to throw in a water bottle and head out the door.
If you are going to be at the soccer park longer; you’ll need to pack for water refills, snacks & depending on your game times, and possibly lunch.
Parking can be atrocious at sports parks and sometimes leaving to grab a bite to eat just isn’t an option. So having food on hand can save you money at the concession stand and make for a less stressful day.
Also, make sure to keep track in your planner or phone calendar app of the games that you are responsible for team snacks. Now my older boys no longer do this, but in preschool, you don’t want to be the busy mom who forgot the snacks.
Those little eyes will look up at you like lost puppies when they realize they aren’t rocking goldfish or fruit snacks after their hard-played game (wink).
Meal Planning for Your Busy Soccer Season
This season my boys have games every Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday. Plus there’s baseball on Monday nights and don’t forget all the school events too.
Now maybe you have perfected the art of not caving in and eating out when busy, but I’m on the struggle bus with this one. The only thing that keeps our budget intact is meal planning.
Search Pinterest for easy meals for the crockpot or instant pot. Use your slowest day of the week and meal prep as much as you can. Write down or record somewhere what you are having for dinner so that you can stick to it.
Also, don’t forget that a sandwich, carrots, yogurt, and an apple are perfectly fine for supper. Give yourself a break and make one of your busiest days an “easy meal” night. Rotate through different breads, wraps, and rolls to make your easy meal night not the same every week.
Smelly Soccer Socks, Shing Guards & Shoes
You guys have caught on by now that soccer is a sport played in various weather conditions. Therefore, it’s also a sport that can bring about numerous smells.
Trust me, if you’ve ever left sweaty soccer gear in your car on a hot day for an extended time, you know the smells I’m talking about!
If soccer shoes are wet, especially if you need them soon, try our Easy Drying Shoes Hack. It doesn’t involve throwing wet cleats into your dryer, so it’s great for hotel stays.
Also, make sure everything wet is taken out of your soccer bag at the end of the day or weekend. Let the bag and items air out so that you avoid the dreaded moldy smell the next time you use your bag.
Products to help with Soccer Smells
There are two products that I love to help with the sports smell that is starting to permeate our car and home.
The first is this Rockin’ Green Platinum Series Active Wear Laundry Detergent
The second one is a good shoe deodorizer spray. I don’t have a specific brand I prefer, but you can find lots of options in stores, and online & I’ve even used one from Norwex before that worked well.
Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide with Technology
If you have been resistant, it’s time to embrace that technology has come to youth sports. Currently, 7 apps on my phone are specifically related to my boys’ sports activities.
What are these apps exactly? Well 3 of them are messaging apps that coaches use to communicate with the teams. They are easier to handle and organize than group texting.
Then three of the apps are tournament and recreational league apps. These keep me informed of schedules, canceled games, time changes, results and so much more.
The final app is to keep score during the games. Yep, I’m that Mom who can never remember the score. Could be because I’m keeping an eye on little siblings. Keep reading more about that below.
The Soccer Mom with Little Kids
The art of watching a soccer game while also keeping an eye on your other kids could probably be a post all to itself.
Did you catch earlier that my husband coaches our boys’ soccer teams? That means I’m not able to “tag-team” the supervision duties with him during the games.
Ever. Never. Not once.
Now I’m not bitter that my hubs donates his time to coach; just making the point that even if you are flying solo, these tips can help!
Like most things as a mom, if you have little ones you are going to have to simply expect that you will miss something.
There will be numerous trips to the bathroom where you return and someone says “You missed her goal,” or “He just had an amazing save!”
You will bend down to unwrap that tenth sucker you are letting your youngest devour so you can try to watch the game and will look up to see your child celebrating with his teammates and have to ask, “What happened?”
Expecting to miss things, will make it somewhat easier when it happens. Which it will. So how do I suggest you miss as few things as possible?
Entertaining the Littles at Siblings Soccer Games
First, out of the gate, you already know that suckers are involved in this process… So a little candy never hurts to buy you some time during a game. Snacks never hurt either.
Of course, food isn’t always going to be an option so if you need another vice, there’s always electronics. Now that the obvious two are out of the way, here are some other ideas.
Before we start a busy soccer season, I love to visit Dollar Tree and find treasures for the “Soccer Fun Bag”. What is this magical bag?
It’s a collection of new toys, crafts, coloring books, etc. that I can pull from as needed.
Now the idea isn’t to dump the bag at the first game and expect magic.
But strategically pull items from the bag before games so that your little ones have a few new toys to play with each time. Some of the things I have found to work from the Dollar Store include:
Playdough
Those are a few of the items that have worked in the past. In the Spring the stores will put out the seasonal summer items and there are usually even more outside treasures to choose from.
Unique Ideas to Keep Siblings Busy
If you are lucky enough to park right beside the playing field, you can also turn your car into a “fun spot” for kids. I’ve dropped all my seats down and the kids think it’s super cool to play with their toys and eat their snacks in there.
You can sit on the tailgate area and watch the game and keep your kids contained. (Please don’t leave your car running while doing this one…)
One of the other things that has helped me in this area is having the other moms of the littles working together. We take turns keeping an eye on the play set, sharing our snacks and toys, and generally being a “soccer village”.
Of course, the guaranteed way to get uninterrupted soccer-watching time… is to get a babysitter. I know this isn’t a financially sound option, but if you have a little one and want to enjoy at least one uninterrupted soccer game, it’s not a bad idea to ask family or friends to watch your little one.
Don’t have anyone you can ask? I’ve been there! Look around at the games for older siblings of teammates. We’ve paid in snow cones & cash for a pre-teen sibling to watch our little guys at the play set during a game.
One Last Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide Tip
We’ve talked about your comfy chair, weather, food, and entertaining siblings, so what else could be left?
The last thing we are going to discuss is how your child’s soccer gear needs to be organized.
Keeping the Soccer Gear Organized
Let’s talk about organization tips that can save your sanity! First, you need to have one place in your home where all the soccer gear is located.
For example, in our house soccer cleats go on the shoe organizer in the garage. Check out our How to Organize Kids’ Shoes post for more ideas about this.
Everything else (shin guards, socks, and jersey) is in the laundry room in individual bins.
This way when you are running in the door while trying to run out the door to a soccer game, you know exactly where everything your child needs is located.
If you don’t have a place for separate bins, simply create a space in a drawer or in a closet where everything “stays” for the entire soccer season.
Also, it helps if your children know not to wear their soccer jerseys when they aren’t playing a game. This way you know once it’s clean, it is going to stay clean until the next game time.
Preparation is the Key to Surviving a Busy Soccer Season
Just like the kids prepare for their upcoming season, so should you. If you wish to make the most of this busy time, you will need to be prepared.
This means making sure you stay on top of the laundry, meal prepping, & the general life tasks involved with motherhood.
Also, make sure you take a peek at our
Ultimate List of Soccer Mom Must Haves
It’s a straightforward list of all the soccer products and related gear to make soccer season easier.
Hopefully, you now have some great ideas from this Soccer Mom’s Survival Guide to help you be prepared & enjoy this soccer season.
Good luck to your soccer player in their games; and to you on the sidelines!
Want to help out your fellow soccer moms? Please share the Pinterest pin below! It not only lets you save the information for yourself but lets other soccer moms use it too!
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