Your Kid Might Be an Athlete If…10 Ways to Tell

Are your kids in sports? Or are they about to get into sports and you might be wondering what to expect? Well, here are 10 quick tell-tale signs that your kid might be an athlete…

1. You put an insane amount of miles on your car

Your kid might be an athlete if you drive more than you sleep. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

Once your kid starts playing competitive sports, what is sometimes called “Travel” or “Select”, expect to put an un-Godly amount of miles on your car. Between practices, games, and tournaments your car will be your new home. How far your travels take you depends a lot on the competitiveness of the team or league. You may even have the joy of having to fly to a tournament. I’ve heard from other parents that they’ve gone as far as Jamaica or LA. I also read about some athletes competing in Europe. Wow. So far I haven’t had to do that. I guess the bright side is my car wouldn’t absorb the miles on those trips.

2. You know what a cadaver smells like

Your kid might be an athlete if you know what a dead body smells like. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

I’m pretty sure if you ask anyone with kids in sports what the worst smell known to man is, they would most likely reply the smell of their kid’s feet when they take off their cleats. It’s a penetrating smell that quickly engulfs your car. You will know when they take off their shoes because you’ll have to grip the wheel a little tighter in the event you get light headed. If your kid plays soccer, you get a double whammy with the shin guards. God forbid you leave the gear in the car overnight. Prepare to open all doors and bombard your vehicle with Febreeze the next morning. FUNK!

3. Your toes know what it’s like to be hit by a hammer

Your kid might be an athlete if you have more ice packs in your freezer than food. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

My freezer seems to be reproducing ice packs by the month. It seems every time I open the freezer one of them slides out and slams onto my foot. Having kids in sports, you have to have plenty of ice packs around to cycle through the process of nursing an injured athlete back to health. Unfortunately, your toes pay the price at some point.

TIP: Buy gentle fabric cold compresses. They are more flexible and feel much better when it strikes your foot. Also, make sure you buy plenty of rolls of Ace bandage wrap so you can hold those ice packs in place.

4. You know RICE is more than just food

Your kid might be an athlete if they use RICE on their leg. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

Building on number 3, as a parent with an athlete, you know what RICE means. For those that aren’t in the health care business or have never done anything athletic in their lives, RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. It is your friend when dealing with injuries your kid is pretty much assured of sustaining. Having a process to fall back on will help alleviate their concern and make you appear like a brilliant physician.

5. The back of your car looks like a laundry basket

Your kid might be an athlete if your backseat has more clothes than their dresser. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

I’m sure parents with little athletes can relate to this one. When you open your back doors, or your trunk, do you find a pile of clothes? These don’t have to be sports gear either. Sometimes, given our crazy lives, kids will change in the car on the way from school to practice. So, you’ll find an array of clothes in the backseat along with an insane amount of socks. Who wears that many socks?

6. You understand pre-wrap is not just for ankles

Your kid might be an athlete if they use medical supplies as fashion accessories. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

If you have girls then you understand that pre-wrap isn’t just for putting on your ankle before taping. It’s also a must have fashion accessory, especially for soccer. If you don’t have a pre-wrap head band then you might as well be wearing a Sunday school dress out there. All you parents with boys, do they use pre-wrap as well?

7. You have strangely shaped bags all over your house

Your kid might be an athlete if you have 82 strangely shaped bags in your house. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

We continue to accumulate bags. These bags are not really useful for anything other than what they are intended for either. For instance, we have numerous soccer bags. If you’ve seen a soccer bag, it has a big compartment for your soccer ball. If you aren’t using the bag for soccer, what the hell would you put in that pocket? You would look pretty ridiculous walking around with that bag anywhere other than a soccer field. It seems every sport has a special strangely shaped bag just for its use, and they are constantly strewn all over your floor.

8. You find yourself on stake-outs

Your kid might be an athlete if you find yourself sitting in your car…A LOT. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

Look around the parking lot at your kid’s next practice. You’ll see car after car with parents sitting and waiting. They’ll have sunglasses on and won’t be moving much. Some parents drop and leave but many parents sit there and wait for their kids. I guess part of it is to make sure you are there in the event something happens out of the blue. Maybe they get injured. Maybe a thunderstorm rolls in. Whatever it is, you will find yourself sitting there trying to entertain yourself for hours.

TIP: Get into podcasts, they make the time go much quicker! Or grab your Kindle or iPad and enjoy some “me” time.

9. You do laundry ALL the time

Your kid might be an athlete if you find yourself washing the same EXACT thing 3 or 4 days in a row. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

When tournaments hit, or even when there are a number of practices happening, you’ll be forced to wash their gear over and over. Get used to washing clothes all the time.

TIP: Buy multiple uniforms if you can. That way you’ll have spares if they get lost or you don’t want to wash. If you don’t want to pay for an extra uniform, at a minimum buy multiple pairs of socks. They tend to disappear, usually the morning of the game. 

10. You can quickly assemble your own shanty town, anywhere, any place, any time

Your kid might be an athlete if you own 24 fold up chairs and a pop up circus tent. (This is ME…Tweet this!)

Besides the clothes thrown all over your car, and the nasty funk greeting you when you pop your trunk, you’ll probably also find numerous chairs and maybe even a tent. Going to sporting events usually requires you to bring your own furniture. Even if it sounds crazy, having one of those canopy tents and some chairs can mean the difference between life and death. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but it your experience will be much more enjoyable.

TIP: Buy enough chairs to put in both of your family’s cars. Then you don’t have to worry about transferring or forgetting them the day of the game. 

Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear what you find representative of your kid’s sports. What do you look around and spot that makes you laugh and shake your head at the same time?