5 Ways to Prepare Kids for their Youth Sports Tournaments

Have your kids ever participated in a youth sports tournament before? Even if they have, it never hurts to make sure your kids are prepared, especially for out-of-town tournaments. Here are 5 ways to prepare your kids for their youth sports tournaments:

1. Make a Packing List

Something always seems to be left behind when you go out of town. To help prevent you forgetting important medications or their uniform, you should make a packing list! Write down all the sports equipment they will need, personal items, clothes, shoes, and whatever else your child might need while they are at their youth sports tournament. When you write all of these items, it makes it easier to see what you need and what you might forget. Hopefully by making a list, you won’t forget anything! Just put a checkmark by everything you have in front of you as you pack their bag!

2. Create a Lodging Code of Conduct

When you go to a youth sports tournament that is out of town, you are probably going to be staying in a hotel or a condo where other people are also staying. You should have an agreed upon code of conduct of how your kids are expected to behave in the hotel. Be very clear with ground rules, such as no running, lights out at this time, and use inside voices. By establishing a lodging code of conduct, your kids will hopefully remain well behaved so no problems arise.

3. Stay Hydrated

Drinking enough water is extremely important while you’re away at a youth sports tournament. Pack a travel water bottle and even include water flavorings to change things up. Athletes need to stay hydrated, even when they aren’t on the field or on the court. Ensuring they stay hydrated is an important aspect for their tournaments.

4. Get Enough Rest

Making sure your kids get enough rest is another important thing for their youth sports tournaments. If your kids don’t sleep well before you leave, then they will be tired when you get to the facility. When your kids are tired, they won’t perform at their best. While you’re away, you should ensure lights out is at a good time so your kids get enough sleep. Playing sports is tiring, so getting enough rest is very important.

5. Emphasize Good Sportsmanship

Winning and losing is part of playing sports. We’re sure your kids know that you can’t win every game, but do they know how to handle themselves? Talking to your kids about their sportsmanship when they lose, and even when they win, is important. If the kids act like sore losers, complaining about what they or other kids did wrong, it should be addressed immediately. Tell them that winning isn’t everything and gently tell them what they could do to improve. You also don’t want them to show bad sportsmanship when they win by rubbing it in the other team’s face. So just talk to your kids about how they should behave after winning and losing.

We hope our list of ways to prepare your kids for youth sports tournaments is helpful! Want to sign your kids up for a tournament? Check out our upcoming tournaments and see which one works best for you!