WAG Warm-Up/Gym Bag Preferences

[Deleted member 18037]

JMO here, your mileage my vary.

String bags are for a snack and drink on a field trip or a hike. Beyond that not very useful or durable.

To accommodate little and bigger kids. Back pack is the way to go (again, duffles while nice, not so much for littles). And you can offer different sizes.

My girls is probably bigger then she needs day to day, but is excellent for meets and overnights. I could of went smaller and didn't, she has grown into it. We went with the bigger size. Side benefit. they look neat at a meet (as in line up and stack nice)

What's in her back pack. Shoes (street shoes and gym shoes) , water, snack, copy of her music. Rip kit and first aid stuff. Hair kit (brush, pony stuff, bun stuff, spray and gel and extras for anyone who might need.) Folder for relevant gymnastic papers. Holds her warm up or street clothes. Snack for meet. Potential change of clothes when at meet. Winter coat if that is the season. Misc things like ipod, book, kindle etc....

 

[MILgymFAM]

Previously we have had drawstrings- they always break, and duffles- they have always been too big. This year my YDD's gym went a different direction. They got under the seat carry-on bags with telescoping handles and rollers. They are smaller than my ODD's gym/duffle bag but a little bigger than a backpack. They stand upright which makes storing stuff easy, and the wheels means nearly every kid can handle it alone. It's the perfect size (and obviously the perfect fit) for our plane trip this weekend to regionals. They had the kids names embroidered on them. They were like $35 and purchased from Costco.

As for warm ups, one DD's gym did the full set. It was cheap, I think $60 for the jacket and pants. We didn't like them very much and the fit was meh, but the price was right. My other DD's gym just ordered jackets and left the pants to the parents. The jackets were pricier (I think about $100- they have the gym name and the gymnast name on them, where my other DD's was completely plain), but they are very well made and comfortable. For us, this was better because fitting my DD in pants is hard, and I was able to order cheap yoga type GK pants off eBay and then alter them to fit properly. Total cost there was $6, and they fit her perfectly.

Long story short, of the types of bags you listed I would go with a decent sized backpack. I do like our little carry-on best of all though, and it will definitely be used even if she quit gym. As for warm ups, I would stick with a jacket that will match a solid black pant and let the parents use what they have or buy what they want.

 

[raenndrops]

We had this bag for 4 years and OG STILL uses hers!
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We also had this warm up until we changed color scheme and they didn't have Columbia Blue with Black. YG still wears OG's old ones. We loved them because they are lined, so the girls RARELY wore a coat over them to a meet (and we live in Ohio with a Nov-Mar meet season).
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Even with customizing with team logo, it was under $80.
If you like the idea of having them wear their own black leggings with a jacket, GTM also has a bunch of good options for that!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

This is ours. It comes in large and small

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[emilykatherine]

heres a picture of what we have, there not huge, pretty nice size. And they weren't Awful, maybe $30 and we got our gymnast name and our name/ monogram on them. The last bag we had we had it for 5 years and it was like a triangle backpack. Only the optionals have these compulsories have drawstring bags.

 

[coachmolly]

Thank you all SO much for the feedback, I really appreciate it! These will be for an Xcel group, but if they are going to spend the money, I want it to be something they actually like. Our current group of Xcel kids have the GK drawstring bags with their name on it- but at $28, I feel like I can find something nicer and more practical for the same price.

 

[cbifoja]

Folder for relevant gymnastic papers.

????? I've never heard of any relevant gymnastics papers for a meet. Can you explain? I know we are supposed to have our child's USAG card but I suspect you are talking of something else.

 

[coachmolly]

????? I've never heard of any relevant gymnastics papers for a meet. Can you explain? I know we are supposed to have our child's USAG card but I suspect you are talking of something else.

You know, the 15 page contract with their coach outlining appropriate meet behavior. Breaches in contract will result in payment of no less than 1 bottle of wine paid directly to the coach at the conclusion of the meet. Your gym doesn't have one of those?

Back to bags, what are your thoughts on this one? The girls are ages 7-10. Gym color is purple.
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[Deleted member 18037]

????? I've never heard of any relevant gymnastics papers for a meet. Can you explain? I know we are supposed to have our child's USAG card but I suspect you are talking of something else.

Sorry I should of been a little more clear. Not necessarily, gymnastic papers, but any paperwork we might be bringing to a gymnastics meet. Sometimes its homework or hotel reservations, directions. Meet information, like report times. Her journal or book.

I also keep relevant information to the gym in a folder in her bag. Due dates for meet fees, shoe orders, schedule changes, open gym and camp dates. We currently have a whole bunch of stuff coming up, team pictures, team Olympics and banquets, possible regional meet fee due, team year book page. All that info is in a folder in her bag. She also will get info at practice, like a fundraising cartwheel-a-thon, birthday party invitations. Any paper goes in the folder in the bag.

I did keep a copy of her Xcel floor routine steps, when it was new, since our girls have individual floors, but that is my type A stuff.

The wine and beer is kept in Mom's bag.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Back to bags, what are your thoughts on this one? The girls are ages 7-10. Gym color is purple.
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Reasonable price, two pockets, so messy stuff can be kept separate (I'm thinking shoes). Water bottle. Free monogram.
Sounds good.

Again I worry about the size. Will it fit the warm up and all stuff needed for a meet. And white, will show dirt much quicker.

Just how I think. In the interest of full disclosure. I'm a scuba diver, we work into and out of the bag, it should be a smooth process. When you are on a boat with a ton of people you need to keep things confined and neat. And I used to travel for a living (as in every week), so I need the bag to be functional. And I willing to pay a bit more for durability and good function.

So I think, can 10-20 girls get all their stuff into and out of the bag, quickly and smoothly without struggling. Kinda why I like our flat bottom back pack, it doesn't flop all over, easy to get stuff in and out of.

Again, just thinking out loud.

 

[emilykatherine]

Also ordering from etsy is difficult because they may not keep that product, and the next year the new girls would have different ones.

 

[profmom]

Less is more for littles. There's no need for a young one to have a huge $50 backpack to lug around at a meet and in which it may be hard for them to find necessary things without unpacking the whole thing. When mine were younger, I brought my own cloth bag for their stuff (shoes, coats, disallowed electronics, etc.), so that they wouldn't lose it. They handed it all over to me, and into MY bag it went for the duration of the meet. We never lost any shoes or socks (or anything else) that way! Mine got through L6 and L8 respectively with their small duffle bags that the gym sold at the front desk for $25. Those duffles are still in good shape after years of wear. Next year it might be time to upgrade to the backpack because DS will have two sets of grips and his precious Karo and DD may have two sets of wrist guards, but we'll see.

I think non-monogrammed is a good call to facilitate reselling. We just write initials on the tags with a sharpie and ask the kids to check them before they throw them in their bags.

 

[stxrdusty]

I preferred a backpack or a drawstring bag because they were smaller and easier to travel with. As for warm-ups, most gymnasts tend to prefer leggings over pants. I personally think pants are better and the larger more track suit type ones at that, especially for younger kids as they're easier to get in and out of. The jacket is usually the pricey part of the warm-ups, I don't remember how much mine was back in JO (sorry), but for NAIGC we bought some for around $30-40 dollars I believe and they just have a UCLA or gymnast embroidery on them. They've been back-ordered for nearly 5 months now so we don't actually have them yet...So, my advice is avoid something that needs to be back-ordered.

 

[amb1485]

Much prefer the backpack with the multiple zippered areas over the bottomless black pit of a duffle. Just don't get white for the main color. It looked nice for about 1 meet.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

Our bags have the gym logo on them but not individual names. Each girl has added a distinctive zipper pull so they can find the right bag in the pile. I thought that was a great way to handle it. I would have been upset if my girl's name was largely proclaimed on the bag, just like I don't monogram her school backpack. A child is much more likely to respond to an adult that knows their name - just think how trusting a gymnast would be of some random stranger at a meet saying "Hey Suzie, your coach told me to help you find them."

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I don't monogram her school backpack. A child is much more likely to respond to an adult that knows their name - just think how trusting a gymnast would be of some random stranger at a meet saying "Hey Suzie, your coach told me to help you find them."

Normally I don't do names on her stuff. But she will never be in her gym stuff without a parent. Her gym bag only goes to gym and meets. Her warm up is only worn at meets. So she is not going to be running off with anyone there, whether they know her name or not. I deliver her to her team/coaches and she doesn't leave them until she is picked up by us, period.

We teach grown ups are not supposed to ask kids for help. And she is not even allowed to be "picked" up by someone we know if they don't know the password. Really, its not just strangers you need to be leary of. Kids are more likely to get snatched or abused by someone they know.

So no, someone she doesn't know saying "Suzie your Mom or coach said to come with me" wouldn't fly unless they knew the password.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

Normally I don't do names on her stuff. But she will never be in her gym stuff without a parent. Her gym bag only goes to gym and meets. Her warm up is only worn at meets. So she is not going to be running off with anyone there, whether they know her name or not. I deliver her to her team/coaches and she doesn't leave them until she is picked up by us, period.

Just goes to show how different areas/gyms manage meets. Here, girls go in a separate door from parents and are supposed to find their group/coach somewhere in the gym. They leave the floor to find the bathrooms on their own (though they probably wouldn't have their bag with them). They frequently exit a different door to find their parents in a huge sea of other parents. So, not always supervised by parent or coach. And while mine is old enough that I don't have any problem with this, I would be more worried if she were little. Regardless, this would be a "hot button " item among most parents in the gym and how needs the drama/debate.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Just goes to show how different areas/gyms manage meets. Here, girls go in a separate door from parents and are supposed to find their group/coach somewhere in the gym. They leave the floor to find the bathrooms on their own (though they probably wouldn't have their bag with them). They frequently exit a different door to find their parents in a huge sea of other parents. So, not always supervised by parent or coach. And while mine is old enough that I don't have any problem with this, I would be more worried if she were little. Regardless, this would be a "hot button " item among most parents in the gym and how needs the drama/debate.

Yeah, umm no not for little's. They need to be handed off to someone. Go find your team, not so much. We'll take you to your team would be fine and happens but no not go find your team.

Medals and then we all take to the floor, take our team photos and collect our kids.

 

[skschlag]

LOL. My son hasbeen "finding his team" since he was 6! One time, the parent line to get in was all the way down a long hallway. I remember watching my little bitty 6 yo with his gigantic duffle walking in to find his team. He's been doing it ever since!

 

[coachmolly]

Thanks again for all the feedback! I hadn't thought about getting something that would be easy to replace for newcomers. I suppose something plain would be best so even if it can't be repeated we can at least get something close.
There is an imprint shop near me that I've heard is very reasonably priced, so I was planning to go in there with a few ideas and seeing what they come up with before jumping into anything I find online.