2 Day Softball Tournament w/tailgate with the team

[HappyTrouble]

In our downtime we : Find the shade and spread out a blanket and/or set up chairs, read, listen to ipods, some of the girls have portable dvd players, but mostly rest!! This is my only chance to get to read so I take full advantage of it. Coaches usually want their players resting in between games.

 

[CrazedDisFan]

I suggest not planning any games during the break times. Use your breaks for just that, breaks. The kids will be tired and filling the break time with alternative activities could backfire. It was certainly a great idea though!!!

We do put the meat, cheese and lettuce on the subs. We pack tomato and the dressings (mayo, mustard, etc.) seperately. The subs will be soggy if you put the tomato and toppings on the bread.

Kraft makes cracker cut cheeses that would be simple, yummy and nutricious for the team. Toss a box of crackers in the car and break out the presliced cheese for a quick snack. The cracker cuts are on sale at Meijer this week 2/4.

As far as pregrilled brats go, we have boiled brats in mass quantity for parties before. We boil them for 15 minutes, then put them on the grill. We also make peppers and onions ahead on the stove top and put them in foil packets for reheating on the grill. Works great!

I would forgo deviled eggs, egg salad and the like. I would not trust a cooler full of ice to keep that stuff cold enough, but maybe if you made that you could eat it the first day for lunch. In that case, I'd think it would be okay.

Best of luck!

 

[jrmasm]

My travelling athlete frequently eats p.b. sandwichs for breakfast. I guess protein is good the day of a game.

 

[fabfive]

I love the idea about freezing the drinks so that they can help keep things cold.

This may be stupid, but...... what kind of grill are you using? How do you put it back in your car?

 

[Taylors6]

Our daughter is into her 3rd year of traveling fastpitch- she is out summer and fall and this year we bit the bullet and bought a used rv to take- so we are not paying hotels all the time (depends of distance or which weekend- 4th of July we are in a bigger town so we decided to leave the "beast" at home!) and we traveled with a family that had one last year and the convienance of it for meals and down time was great (although we discouraged sitting in the AC between games- it just zaps their energy!).

For in between things- get the card game Pit...it is super easy to play and I have yet to find a girl who doesn't love it- we have been through a few decks even! You can find it on ebay real cheap- our team spent alot of down time sitting and playing it in the shade- even the coach would get in on it- its not slow paced at all so games go quick. We did trivia pages I made up too and I would have something for a prize (candy- huge mt dew- whatever)...they liked that but you can only do it a time or two. They spent alot of time with the ipods and dvd player- like other poster said.

We had a similiar experience of traveling with many "well to do" families- there were families who bought matching cleats for the whole team (seriously) and one rented out the public pool for our team one evening! We did eat together almost all the time- and we did the sandwich thing (make them up ahead and baggie them with the type written on the bag- the girls really loved just grabbing one and going!) lots of fruit and veggies- FROZEN GRAPES were always a hit! Dinners we did everything from burgers to taco night (make up meat ahead and put in a crock pot to warm)...that was the favorite fo the year. Last year I made a bunch of cupcakes up- 3-4 different flavors and had a few frostings and put crushed candies of different kinds in a muffin tins to make a cupcake bar (we had a hospitality room at the hotel- our team was part of a bigger program with girls from ages 8 to college age so we booked 30 rooms or more usually) and girls are still talking about it. You could do a popcorn bar pretty easy- bring the popcorn popped in bags and have shakers with cinn-sugar, parm. cheese, cajun spice, etc.- Popcorn for a quick inbetween break is good too.

In the end the players and their families really appreciated the time I put in for the little things- probably even more than all the money some of the other parents were throwing around!

Have a fun (and safe) season...heres hoping you lots of wins...(unless your playing us....we're in eastern IL and IN area!!

Missy

 

[fabfive]

I will try to find the game PIT and UNO would be good as well. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[fabfive]

Has anyone ever used the "neck tie things" that you soak in water to keep cool? I had some several years ago but have misplaced them and can't remember where I got them.

 

[fabfive]

We made the "cool neckties" last night for the team. They are sooooo easy and really keep you cool. Two of the other mom's came over and we had two sewing machines going and the kids were helping. It was a lot of fun. The coaches wife even commented that we could sell these for a fund raiser to help pay tournament fees. What a "COOL" idea!

 

[fabfive]

Just thought I would post an updated as to how the tournament went and what items were successful. My daughter's team won 2nd place Way to go girls They also qualified for the 'National Tournament". Not bad for a 'RECREATIONAL TEAM" vs a "SELECT TEAM".

I decided to make the following: Broccoli Salad, Green Bean Tuna Salad and Chicken Ramen Noodle Salad, muffins, and cookies. The only thing I would not make again is the chicken ramen noodle salad it smelled very funny the next day and I flushed in down the toilet. Everyone loved the salads. My friend made the black bean and corn salsa and the cucumber salad that was also a hit.

Boy was it a hot one. Saturday's is was 104 degrees. Those girls (all the teams) really worked hard. The only issue I had was some of the girls we played against were as big as me. I looked at them and thought they were much older than the U10 that we were suppose to play.
There was only 1 girl on their team that even came close to the same size as our girls. Our girls were a little upset but what can you say??? I told my daughter that if they were older than age 10 then did they really win against 10 year old competition. Last year we had to show our birth certificates but not this year. Oh well, they had fun would have liked to have first place but second will have to do.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I hope this thread will help others as well.

 

[gdulaney]

When I was younger, my brother was on a soccer team that did alot of traveling. Sometimes my mom would do fried chicken -- which tastes pretty good cold (or can be reheated on a grill). We did a lot of sandwiches...not just cold cuts, but also PB&J (or PB&H -- honey).

Also, I saw a neat receipe for tailgate nachos. You use a disposible pan and put your chips in it. Then top with refried beans, cheese, salsa and cover with foil. Heat. Remove from heat and add tomatoes or other toppings as desired. Sounded good and I suggested to my hubby for our next NASCAR tailgate.

What about tossed salad or cesear salad? You can get the pre-cooked chicken to go on top.

Ginny

 

[swilshire]

One of my best investments was in a couple of 7 day coolers. I got mine at the Coleman outlet, but I think Walmart sells them also. They keep stuff cold for a LONG time. I freeze gallon milk jugs or quart juice bottles for the ice. I always keep the drinks separate from the food to keep from opening the food cooler so often.

I made a cornbread salad for a labor day picnic last year. It was a big hit, but I mislaid the recipe. Need to get online and find another version.

Sheila

 

[fabfive]

Do tell? I would love a copy of that recipe. If you find a copy of it that matches the one you made can you please share it with us?

I will have to look into those coolers.

 

[a2bug3]

I am a new allstar softball mom on a budget ......we are beginning our season this weekend and don't know where to start!
Can any one give me suggestions on what to bring, and ideas for our team.

We've seen teams before that have matching bat bags, cleats ect.
does everyone do this? Or is there other things that we can get to "look" better" as a team?

Help !