Okay, the schedule for my son’s first tournament games of the spring season—our first real games of the season—were just released and I was unpleasantly surprised to see that our first game is Saturday at 8am. The good news is that our second game is at 10am Saturday, so we won’t have to wait around the complex with bleary eyes for the second tilt.
I was hoping that we would play in one of the Friday night games, to space out the games, and because playing at night is fun, but it is what it is.
There’s always the temptation to stay over somewhere for tournament games, but hotels and meals out are expensive and it’s not really necessary. If you have the 8am game, you’re waking up early no matter where you’re staying, so it pays to just bite the bullet, wake up really early, and let your son sleep in the back of the car while you drive there.
The good thing about 8am games (with a reporting time of 7am) on a Saturday is that the chance of running into traffic at 6am is really remote. So you should make great time getting there. And hopefully the people at the facility tasked with collecting parking fees from parents and attendance fees will be asleep when we cruise in there before 7!
Of course, if you want to get a hotel because the other families are doing it and you want to socialize, then by all means stay over somewhere.
When my son has a game where we need to leave at say 7 in the morning, I’ll wake up at six and start my morning routine early. I’ll drink black coffee and eat something. Then I’ll hopefully go to the bathroom before we go. When I’m able to go, I’ll usually be good for the morning and early afternoon as long as I don’t eat anything heavy. I also try not to eat too much the night before a morning game, and try to stop eating around nine o’clock. Yes, I plan for my stomach. It’s like having another kid.
But I won’t be able to do any of this because we’ll have to leave so early.
Leave out All Your Stuff Out the Night Before
Fill up your kid’s water bottles. Have your travel coffee cup ready to go. Put the packed baseball bag in the car (make sure it contains fielding gloves, batting gloves, bats). Set out the uniform so your kid can quickly put it on. Slip in the belt through the loop in the pants.
Bring both turf shoes and cleats even when you’re absolutely positive it’s one or the other. You just never want to get that wrong, and have your son at the field without the right shoes and possibly be stopped from playing.
If you can, have an extra pair of baseball pants in the car. My son once spilled a large cup of Matcha tea all over himself right before we got to a tournament on a cold day, and I had to scramble to find a nearby Dick’s Sporting Good for a replacement pair of pants. If the game had started at 8am, we would have been in trouble. Ultimately, as a baseball parent, you want to be like one of those contractor trucks that have drawers in back with every screw, nut, bolt, and washer you would ever need.
Can you tell, I’m excited, and nervous!?!
For information about the emotional side of baseball, see:
- What’s Your Baseball End Game?
- Youth Baseball: Why Do I Care So Much?
- Anger Management and Youth Baseball: How to Calm Down
- How to Manage Your Kid’s Baseball Tantrums and Meltdowns
- 4 Ways to Respond to a Coach Playing Favorites
- How to Stop Being a Crazy Baseball Dad
- How to Be a Good Baseball Dad in the Backyard
- Is It Now Fashionable to Hate On Baseball Dads?
- Are Local Little Leagues Bad for Baseball?
For information on hitting, see:
- How to Get Out of a Hitting Slump
- 4 Best Baseball Batting Aids (No. 3 is Free)
- 4 Hitting Drills You Need to Do Before Every Game
- 4 Old School Baseball Drills You Need to Be Using
- 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Baseball Bat
For information on pitching, see:
- What You Need to Know About Little League Elbow
- 4 Ways To Increase Your Kid’s Pitching Velocity
- Is the Circle Change Dangerous for Youth Pitchers?
- Why I Don’t Let My Son Pitch in Little League
- How to Make Sure Your Kid Isn’t Overpitched in Basebal
For ways to get faster, see: