Every traveling sports family knows that when you leave the comforts of home, it’s up to your car to stash what you forgot you might need.
Having a travel softball car packing list of just in case items, helps you feel more secure and less stressed during all your spring and summer travel softball.
There are many ultimate sports car packing lists: my favorite most comprehensive ultimate list can be found on SidelineSociety.com.
These ultimate lists are perfect when you are traveling to an extended weekend away for a travel tournament and home is more than 2 hours away.
But I haven’t found a list specific to the young lady that plays softball and her family. So I made one.
We are going with just the basics for this post. Just the essentials, so you are not hauling a trailer with you to every away game.
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Here is the Best Basic Travel Softball Family Car Packing List.
Table of Contents
1. Get a Medium-Sized Plastic Tote or Soft-Sided Utility Tote For the Trunk
A medium-sized plastic tote or an open rectangular utility tote with straps will contain most of the items inside and make our system highly portable.
This is ideal for picking up and moving it between family cars depending on who is taking your player to the game.
Zip Lock bags in a gallon, quart, sandwich, and snack sizes can work if you want to segregate or contain smaller items inside your tote, and for those items that could leak.
2. For when it’s hot during softball games
- Sun Protection/Sunblock, Lip Balm with SPF protection.
- Bug Spray
- Visor or Ball Caps for family
- Sunglasses
3. For cleanup
- Garbage Bags inside an empty plastic wipes container (like a wet wipes jug).
- Paper Towels
- Wet Wipes
- Hand Sanitizer
- Roll of Toilet Paper (Trust us, learned this lesson the hard way!)
- Baby Powder for shaking off sand and dirt, and sweat off wet feet.
- Feminine Hygiene products for the ladies. You will be somebody’s hero, trust me.
- Plastic Cups, Utensils, Paper Plates inside a gallon ziplock to keep clean.
4. For the Hungry
You may want a separate snack bin or cooler for these:
- Snacks – non-perishable
- Beef Jerky
- seeds
- gum
- Rice Krispie Treats
- gummies
- fruit leather
- nuts
- protein/granola bars
- Crackers
- popcorn
- cereal
- chips
- pretzels in plastic snack bags.
Water Bottles
Want to bring lunch?
Some Ideas for food to pack fresh on game day in a Rolling Picnic Cooler for the family’s picnic/dinner/lunch:
- Boiled Eggs
- Pickles
- Fruit
- Cheese
- Chocolate (not to be left in the car overnight, chocolate will melt in the car on a hot day)
- Cold shrimp
- Deli food
- Cookies
- A loaf of french bread
5. For Comfort during Travel Softball
5. For Comfort during Travel SoftballRemember spring and summer weather can be unpredictable. Put most of these in a backpack to keep in the car for the Travel Softball Season from spring through fall.
- Stadium blankets
- Umbrellas
- Folding chair with Sunshade if you can find one. These are a lifesaver on hot sunny or drizzly days.
- Folding wagon to haul gear
- Light rain jacket & light fleece sweatshirt
- Beanie hat, scarf, gloves (seriously)
- A picnic blanket or large beach towel for the ground. The towel could also be used to dry up in the event of a sunshower or sudden rainstorm
- Extra headbands, elastics, bobby pins
- Extra T-Shirts for each family member.
6. Other Things for the Car – Keep Year Around
- Notebook, pen, pencil, eraser (for recording stats, tracking score or playing hangman with your other kids)
- Coin purse with change, 10 singles, and 2 5s
- Utility items: Flashlight with fresh batteries, Leatherman, Car Starter
- Changes of clothes for the family, (especially extra shirts)
- First aid kit with Neosporin, wound wash, ace bandages.
- Extra contacts and contact solution or extra glasses
7. Have a Baby/Toddler?
- Definitely extra diapers
- a package of wipes in a ziplock bag so they don’t dry out
- a couple of pouches of baby food for emergency hunger
- goldfish/cheerios/non-perishable baby snack
- changes of clothes for the baby in a zip lock bag
- a muslin cotton swaddle blanket (this has lots of uses: mini picnic blanket, burp cloth, bib, )
- Portable potty if they are in no longer in diapers
8. Extra Softball Stuff
- Socks
- Softballs
- Alternate uniform if the team has two uniforms. You will be amazed how often the coach will want to change uniforms based on the other team’s colors.
- Sneakers, slides, or Toms to change into after the game.
9. For the Dog
- Poop bags
- Travel water dish
- snacks
- extra leash
10. Going on a day/weekend-long Travel Softball Tournament far from home?
Add these kits to your car to make an Ultimate Travel Softball Car Packing List. Great for when you are traveling more than an hour from home for a day-long or weekend-long travel tournament.
Toiletries kit to keep in the car for cleanup after or between games:
- makeup wipes
- lip balm
- face wash
- lotion
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
Travel Tech bag:
- extra cords
- charger
- portable battery
- A change of clothes and shoes for after the games are through and your player is ready to get out of her uniform.
I hope this Basic Travel Softball Family’s Car Packing List has helped you feel prepared for your softball season and will hopefully end up saving the day and your stress level. Find it in the Resource Library. Gain ACCESS to the Library with the form below.
Now, Let’s Play Ball!
P.S. For tips on how to get out the door for that travel softball game without feeling like a frazzled mess check out How to help Frazzled Moms Conquer Softball Season Chaos. This post gives tips on how to help you and your player get organized for the softball season.
Want to know what equipment and gear need to be checked out before the season starts? Take a look at The Ultimate Softball Equipment List – Player Tested, Coach Approved.
Chandra is the chocolate-chip loving mother of 2 teenage girls who started over again with a baby boy in her 40’s! She is the author of The Mom’s Playbook to Conquering Softball Season. She gives other moms the tools they need to prepare their daughters for real life. Her content is centered on helping girls grow up to be well-rounded, equipped, expressive, confident, intelligent, capable, kind and independent.
