Soccer Watching Tips for Grandparents Babysitting Grandchildren

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Woo hoo! Soccer is going strong and my grandkids are enjoying it immensely. All have won or tied their last couple of games! Even more importantly, a couple of them have earned good sportsmanship stickers and all are working hard at that goal. YAY! And, due to various health needs, this Sandwich Generation baby boomer grandma got drafted to take them last week. 

While enjoying watching them play and loudly cheering them on, I also figured out some very handy dandy tips to help all of us when we have grandkids' sports duty, especially on HOT days:

1. ALWAYS bring a hat – sunscreen would have been good too!
2. ALWAYS bring a flat of water bottles.
3. A nylon chair is quite handy. Both to sit in and, as my grandson figured out, to turn into a mini-swimming pool to cool you as you cheer. He finished his game in the 85 degree, full-sun heat of the morning then came to sit with me – redder than the proverbial beet. I poured water on him and in him and he was still so hot. Then he spilled some water in his seat and realized it felt great, so he added more and was quite comfortable the rest of the game.
4. Big sheets or cotton blankets that are cooler to sit on are always useful – bring extras in case the team(s) forgot theirs.
5. Extra ice. I was so glad I brought a cup of ice, but could definitely have used a LOT more.
6. Bring a pen and shorthand notebook to jot down ideas as they pop in your head. Between juggling water and the bright sun, it can be quite difficult to work on your cell phone. Sometimes low tech DOES beat high tech. 🙂 
7. Bring a huge sports umbrella. More shade, cooler temps, and your iPhone will work better (though still watch for water). AND then, you can also bring a DS or iTouch in case siblings get bored watching. Especially those with several games going on during the day.
8. And here's a tip that is true, no matter what season you are in. I've discovered the coaches frequently rattle off dates and times of the next practices and/or hand out sheets of information – all of which are easily mislaid and forgotten in the hustle bustle of the game. So now, the minute I get the paperwork, I carefully (and dry-ly) snap photos of all the paperwork and text it to their parents – which means we both have copies of it easily available. And I type a quick text of any verbal directions. It's made my life and stress-level MUCH better! 

I enjoyed sitting near another grandmother and as we both discussed, "isn't it amazing – no matter how old we boomers and seniors get, there's plenty more fun stuff to learn! Especially for those of us in the Sandwich Generation, caring for our aging parents, and having fun watching our grandkids play sports!"