This Soccer Mom Thing

I am so proud of my eldest son, who not only made the Select U9 A Team but also made the Toronto FC training academy!! He has been really big on goals lately and this was a goal he had set for himself to complete by the time he turned twelve, so he is ahead of the game! I haven’t told him yet, but I’ve been looking at the personalized koozies from US Imprints for his soccer team. They’re basically personalised bottle holders, that I could personalise with the team badges, but we’ll see!

He loves to play soccer and to be honest I love watching him play. He has a knack of reading plays and is always at the perfect spot at the right time. And he loves the sport with all his heart. He is kicking a ball from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep (my poor living room is turned into a soccer field more times then I wish!).

The only hard part is how much soccer he now plays. The commitment is four nights a week plus matches! Which is a lot between school, work, organizing both boys, doctor appts, etc…It was becoming so overwhelming and stressful. It took a while and I had to look up some pointers from other moms but I think we have finally come up with some strategies that work for us so that our family life and his school work does not suffer.

Here is what we are doing:

1) Crock pot meals! How I have become in love with my crock pot! I never used to use it (I actually have two and did not touch them for six years!). Toss the ingredients in in the morning and as long as it is turned on by noon it is good to go!

2) My son has a designated soccer bag that contains multiples of four of everything (four pairs of socks, shorts and shirts,etc.). We keep one pair of shoes in there, as well as an extra pair in my husband’s car.

3) One soccer ball in each of the cars (sometimes plans can change and you become the designated driver!!) along with a pump.

4) He has four novels in each of our cars so that he can keep up with his reading to soccer practices. I really do not want his school work to suffer because of soccer and this was the best way to keep up on his reading skills for us.

5) Package of wipes and diapers in each car (saves having to stock up a diaper bag every time we go out) along with a bag of toys that stays in each of the cars for our youngest.

6) Packing extra snacks the morning of for our youngest to distract him during the practice.

7) Soccer schedule on the fridge with lots of highlighting 🙂

Our routine is by no means perfect but it has helped make our hectic life so much easier! What other ways do you organize or prepare to help make the night/school routine easier if your child participates in sports?