MAG 1st comp season questions

[SPX]

So this is the first year ds will be competing and I have a couple odd questions that weren't answers at the new parents meeting at the gym and I can't seem to find in the archives here. I'd love some advice from folks who've BTDT.

1) socks....yes I know this an ongoing theme...but what kind do your boys like? Cotton, nylon, blend? Thick, thin, in between? And how many pairs per meet? Should I get more of the same for him to use at practice? I never knew socks could be so complicated.

2) footwear for meets for going between events: our coach recommend slip on like crocks or open flipflops (ie no toe thong). Ds does not like the idea, I am very in favor of it as I intend to speed our post practice departure with them too. What do your guys use, like, not like? Do I get 2 pair so one is nice for meets?

3) meet bags: how big is big enough? What features do you or your sons look for in a meet bag? We are thinking of ordering as a team, any suggestions on places to use or avoid? Or is this just a bad idea?

thanks for your insight!

 

[GymDad23]

So this is the first year ds will be competing and I have a couple odd questions that weren't answers at the new parents meeting at the gym and I can't seem to find in the archives here. I'd love some advice from folks who've BTDT.

1) socks....yes I know this an ongoing theme...but what kind do your boys like? Cotton, nylon, blend? Thick, thin, in between? And how many pairs per meet? Should I get more of the same for him to use at practice? I never knew socks could be so complicated.

2) footwear for meets for going between events: our coach recommend slip on like crocks or open flipflops (ie no toe thong). Ds does not like the idea, I am very in favor of it as I intend to speed our post practice departure with them too. What do your guys use, like, not like? Do I get 2 pair so one is nice for meets?

3) meet bags: how big is big enough? What features do you or your sons look for in a meet bag? We are thinking of ordering as a team, any suggestions on places to use or avoid? Or is this just a bad idea?

thanks for your insight!

1 - I believe my son prefers them on the thinner side, ankle high. Usually same color as pommel pants or white. Our first year, no one said anything to us about socks....so we showed up without any not knowing any better. Luckily the coach always kept a few pairs on him for that situation.

2 - I rarely have seen our kids put their sandals on moving in between events. I'd just go with a slip on sandal for ease or even slip on shoes. With my daughters team, forget about it, it's a completely different animal for us. They all have to coordinate the same flip flops, with similar bows, sparkles, etc. I blame the overly involved gym moms for that one (sorry, don't mean to offend any moms out there....but you know who you are).

3 - We were somewhat required to buy the "team" bags, which were medium sized, but I feel like for what these guys actually need to carry around (grips, tape, shoes/sandals), smaller bags should be more than sufficient. Separate compartments are nice for everything, but let's be honest, everything ends up getting shoved into one spot anyways.

 

[Pigeon]

1. Socks - thinner, tight fitting, cotton-poly blend. Coach demands same color as pommels. Pack extra in a safe place (like your purse ). Mine likes ankle high as well. Easier for on/off (and coach would loose mind if actual skin were showing on those low socks). My kids don't practice in socks, but they probably should...our older optional boys do though and they wear whatever socks they like for practice.

2. My kids have crocs for competition. Black to match warm-ups. They never wear them between events or on podium (socks for that). Crocs are nice and light in the bag. Slip ons would be OK too. Coach doesn't care about footwear. Our girls team has to match everything...socks, shoes, scrunchies, sparkles...glad I have boys!

3. We are required to have team bags as well. Ours are smaller back packs. They are fine. Everything does end up just getting shoved in haphazardly at the end.

 

[Madden3]

Bags: Our gym uses backpacks that are ordered for the team. A bit pricy but sturdy and should easily last for as long as the boys are on team. Sorry I do not know where they get them. Names are embroidered on them too. I guess they are about the size of a typical book backpack for school. Actually probably a bit smaller. It would seem to be plenty big, but in fact the boys hate shoving their shoes in the bag and many of them give their shoes to mom or dad before starting the meet warm up and do not wear any shoes during meet. My sons do not seem to care about the extra pockets and features as everything gets shoved in the main section. I like that there is a separate pocket for snacks and a mesh water bottle holder.

Shoes: Sometimes but not always, sliders worn at meet. Sometimes no shoes are worn. I do not think there is any need to have more than one pair. It is not like they are getting any wear and tear at meets.

Socks: We have had little choice in the matter as the coach insists socks are the same color as stirrup pants and with our colors made finding socks difficult. At first we used soccer socks, then the coach ordered a bunch of the right color socks and sold them. They were always past the ankle so they would stay up and not sag or be so low as to to show ankle when wearing stirrups. Thin socks will get holes faster than thick, so budget-wise I have been glad the meet socks have been thicker than what they typically wear at practice, they last all season and the kids like them fine.

 

[skschlag]

DS uses hanes ankle socks....lol those work well. Never worn shoes in meets. ever.

Has used a giant duffel which we hated and a backpack. as long as it holds everything, that is all that matters.

 

[Sasha]

1) socks....

Your coach should advise you on what color to buy. Most either match the pommel pants, or are pure white. NO LOGOS or stripes, or anything. Can be hard to find last minute, even black and white, which you think would be easy, often have some logo or toe stripe or something. Mine likes thin, low/ankle socks that hug the foot, and are a blend. Cotton stretches out and doesn't retain shape well. Pure poly is slippery and can feel too wet (and stinky). If you need some other color besides black and white (like blue, red, maroon, gray...), may be very hard to find in regular stores - may need to order from a gymnastics supplier (we have only needed black or white, so I'm not an expert here, but I remember visiting MANY stores looking for the right fit and fabric without logos..). Tip: For younger boys not ready for a mens size sock, but too big for the little kid socks (like my 9 year old), I find womens socks actually fit my son well and have fewer logos (I just remove the packaging before giving to him) ;-)

2) footwear for meets for going between events...

Our boys have never worn any kind of shoe at meets. They wear whatever shoes (sandal, sneaker, whatever) from home and take them off as soon as they arrive, and never put them back on until awards or after awards. Boys shoes don't seem to be coordinated as a rule, though I'm sure there are gyms that do go all out and coordinate that. My son wears a sport sandal with a back strap that rotates, so can either be used behind the ankle, or pushed forward like a slide (or stepped on, which is probably most of the time, lol).

3) meet bags:

We have matching embroidered sport duffles with the shoulder straps - pretty simple. A backpack or smallish duffle would work. I like the duffle as it has a 'bottom' so it doesn't fall over like many backpacks do. Note, many kids do, however, toss their water bottles in the bag, and of course many bottles leak (have had a few instances of wet socks that were in the bag...), so something with a water bottle pocket or other solution there could be useful....

 

[sce]

So this is the first year ds will be competing and I have a couple odd questions that weren't answers at the new parents meeting at the gym and I can't seem to find in the archives here. I'd love some advice from folks who've BTDT.

1) socks....yes I know this an ongoing theme...but what kind do your boys like? Cotton, nylon, blend? Thick, thin, in between? And how many pairs per meet? Should I get more of the same for him to use at practice? I never knew socks could be so complicated.

2) footwear for meets for going between events: our coach recommend slip on like crocks or open flipflops (ie no toe thong). Ds does not like the idea, I am very in favor of it as I intend to speed our post practice departure with them too. What do your guys use, like, not like? Do I get 2 pair so one is nice for meets?

3) meet bags: how big is big enough? What features do you or your sons look for in a meet bag? We are thinking of ordering as a team, any suggestions on places to use or avoid? Or is this just a bad idea?

thanks for your insight!

1) Our coach prefers thin cotton socks. I bought a pack of 3, as they will get stained or lost. Best to pack 2 pairs in his meet bag.

2) My ds does not wear anything event to event, some gyms do have slides they wear between events. Given the choice between slides and crocs, he wears crocs all the time.

3) Our bags are pretty big. Big main pocket, 2 side pockets and a front pocket. Grips in one packet, water bottle and gatoraide in the ther, warm-ups, pants, tape etc go in the middle. Snacks in the front pockets

 

[samsmama]

I would ask the coach or a parent whose kid competed at this gym last year. We have been at two gyms and both coaches had very specific thoughts about all of these questions, so I would not buy anything without asking.

Gym #1 -- black socks, no shoes worn on the meet floor, specific backpack provided as part of uniform
Gym #2 -- white socks, black slides must be worn on the meet floor, specific backpack ordered separately from everything else

You got some great tips re: socks -- girls' socks often work the best! When we needed black socks, I found perfect ones from Nike. My tip is to buy a ton of them as they are hard to find last-minute and they get lost and dirty. Our current coach requests new white socks for each meet, so I'm buying twice as many as I think we'll need. I always pack 2-3 pairs for a meet in case they get lost or (more common!) a teammate forgets theirs.

 

[l.c.o]

Socks: check with coach or an upper level parent. I was advised by a veteran parent (whose older DD competes with mine) that DS's coaches do not tell newbies sock details. As I really didn't know any of the boys moms before the first meet to warn them, I bought a package of (white!) socks for the first meet to share. As others have mentioned, each gym has their own rules. I find truly plain white socks on Amazon - haven't found any in a store. My DS likes them thick and comfy.

Shoes: I honestly have zero idea what my DS did. I think he usually wore his slides. But I don't remember what he did in snow? Knowing him, he probably still just wore his slides. (Unlike my DD... As others have mentioned, that's a total production).

Backpacks: DS's team does not have matching bags. I just usually sent him with whatever string bag I could manage to find the day of his meets. It was sufficient, and I was lucky there were no water bottle leaks. This year DS will have a warmup to deal with, and grips aren't too far away, so I think I'll order him a UA backpack because of course older sister has a UA team backpack on the girls side of things (which again, all girls have matching ones ordered through the gym, argh!). I find my DD sorta DOES need the backpack, what with the UGGs she wears in, flip flops for awards, grips, warmup, extra hair goodies, "emergency" items (safety pins, tiny scissors, nail polish remover, etc), an occasional lucky stuffed bear... My DS, not so much, ha! I only realized recently how comparatively "ill-prepared" he is. Second child syndrome? Simply boys vs girls? I'll never know. For him I'm usually just relieved I can find all his uniform pieces and remember to brush his hair.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

Definitely get advice from coach about socks, but if they're white...prepare to buy a lot. I know that I'm not particularly good with laundry myself, but *none* of the other parents were able to get the socks white-white after competitions, even with bleach. I'd typically send him in a pair of almost-perfectly-white used-once socks for the warm-up round, then the coach would have them change to brand new socks once the competitions started. Amazon was the best bet for us. Coach said that he usually buys his son girl's socks from Target, but the only ones that I could find were half all-white and half pink/purple/turquoise striped. So my daughter has a lot of socks that are too big for her.

Our coach is trying to find red socks to match the pommel pants this year and I'm secretly flashing him two middle fingers.

 

[SPX]

Thanks for all the great tips. Ds's socks will be either navy or black as we think the comp pants are navy. Uniforms changed this year so even the coach isn't sure what everything looks like. Ha! We'll wait for his verdict on that. I'll keep the girl's socks in mind. He steals a few pairs of my socks so I doubt he'll fuss about them if the match and fit, which is good as I'll have less than 2 weeks to find suitable socks before the first meet. Why do uniforms take 3 months?

 

[sce]

Thanks for all the great tips. Ds's socks will be either navy or black as we think the comp pants are navy. Uniforms changed this year so even the coach isn't sure what everything looks like. Ha! We'll wait for his verdict on that. I'll keep the girl's socks in mind. He steals a few pairs of my socks so I doubt he'll fuss about them if the match and fit, which is good as I'll have less than 2 weeks to find suitable socks before the first meet. Why do uniforms take 3 months?

You can often buy socks on Amazin, they arrive in 2 days. You can search for the color you want, there are lots of options.

 

[okgymmom]

Thanks for all the great tips. Ds's socks will be either navy or black as we think the comp pants are navy. Uniforms changed this year so even the coach isn't sure what everything looks like. Ha! We'll wait for his verdict on that. I'll keep the girl's socks in mind. He steals a few pairs of my socks so I doubt he'll fuss about them if the match and fit, which is good as I'll have less than 2 weeks to find suitable socks before the first meet. Why do uniforms take 3 months?

Lots of great input here, but I'll add one more thing I wish someone had told me in our first competition season- -put your son's name on EVERYTHING! Pommel pants, shorts, jersey/singlet (whatever your gym calls it), warm-up top and pants, grips, everything. Without fail, after the first meet some poor parent will be trying to track down a lost pair of shorts or figure out which teammate is missing pommel pants because there was an extra pair in their son's bag.

 

[skschlag]

To piggyback okgymmom.....before you leave every meet, check the bag for everything!

 

[sce]

Yes, totally label everything and do a check before leaving.

 

[Sasha]

Lots of great input here, but I'll add one more thing I wish someone had told me in our first competition season- -put your son's name on EVERYTHING! Pommel pants, shorts, jersey/singlet (whatever your gym calls it), warm-up top and pants, grips, everything. Without fail, after the first meet some poor parent will be trying to track down a lost pair of shorts or figure out which teammate is missing pommel pants because there was an extra pair in their son's bag.

YES. This ALWAYS happens with boys. Too many wardrobe changes during a meet (pants, shorts socks), and especially hard when everyone has the same bag and boys tend to just lob their items in some general direction of what they think is their bag...

 

[sce]

YES. This ALWAYS happens with boys. Too many wardrobe changes during a meet (pants, shorts socks), and especially hard when everyone has the same bag and boys tend to just lob their items in some general direction of what they think is their bag...

And well boys

 

[SPX]

Got it: label and double check for everything after meet.

So what is your labeling method of choice?

 

[sce]

Got it: label and double check for everything after meet.

So what is your labeling method of choice?

Sharpie. If the clothes are black, silver sharpie

 

[profmom]

Walmart sells socks with no logos that are mostly cotton in a package that includes both black and white. You can get logo-less black and white socks at most Target outlets as well. Just buy a bag. They will lose them.

Is your son in grips yet? If so, check with the coach to see if the team has any rules/preferences about wristband colors.