Parents team backpack for regular practice?

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SHELOVESGYM

Proud Parent
One of DD's teammates has been using the team backpack for regular practice. DD seems to think this is allowed. I wasn't sure and didn't have a chance to ask the coach yet so I was wondering if this is usually a no or not? I notice the older girls don't use the backpack but use some sort of UA sack bag which may have been their bag from last year.
 
I wouldn't use any competition things for practice because they just get dirty or fall apart and then you have to replace them sooner. I try and keep all our competition clothes and bags packed away and in pristine condition to get the most out of them. Can you find a cheap alternative in your team colours that ticks the boxes and saves some money?
 
My daughter uses her club bag each day for practice. I see it as getting value out of it. If we didn't use it daily, she'd use it about twice a year... It's not going to fall apart quickly because it's the same brand that makes good quality school bags (we have school uniforms and school bags here in Australia). If they fell apart in a year or less, the parents would be complaining loudly! It's also a dark colour so is not likely to show much dirt.
 
My DD takes her team bag to practice each time. It is an UA cinch style and almost all the bling-Club name is off. I am ordering a new one for season and will continue to let her take the old one. I wish they would get a different kind. My YD who does T&T has a cool backpack and they all take them each practice.
 
DD does NOT use her comp backpack for practice, none of the girls on her team do.

My older Dd is in a dance company and a couple of those girls do use their comp bags for practice but most do not.
 
My DD is not allowed. And she likes it that way; says it makes her feel "extra special" on meet days. She has so much fun packing that bag before a meet!
 
The first year competing I wouldn't let DD take hers to practices. But then everyone else was bringing theirs, and she wanted too, so I finally gave in. It's just a bag, they bring them to the meets, and set them aside, it's not like they actually compete with them on or something.
 
Our kids use their gym back pack for practice and meets. All the time, all the kids.
 
When they had the backpack ones, I allowed the girls to take them to practice. We have a coach that still uses her old one every day for practice - she competed for four years with the team and now coaches and competes for the high school.

Our current bags are too big to bring to practices, but I still let them take the old backpacks. They are in excellent condition - embroidered vs belonged out :)
 
No competition bag at practice. I don't if it's a rule, but it is sensible. We never bothered with any sort of bag at practice at it isn't really needed. All the team girls have some sort of cubby or locker at the gym. If they need something they just go get it.
 
Our girls don't take them to practice. Honestly, I can't imagine why they would need a bag for practice. DD and her teammates arrive in a leo, sneakers and gym shorts, sometimes with a tshirt (or sweats/sweatshirts in winter). They bring a water bottle. For almost all of the girls, that is all they bring. There are cubbies and they just toss their stuff in the cubbies. Gym provides a snack, grips, etc. stay at the gym (except when they go to competition). DD has a couple of gym string bags that came with camp leos, but she doesn't even use those at practice.
 
Our girls don't take them to practice. Honestly, I can't imagine why they would need a bag for practice.
Well....our gym doesn't provide a snack. Or cubbies/lockers. So yeah, they need a bag to keep their grips, tape, braces, snack, clothes, shoes in. Bags are left in an alcove that is only used by the team girls for getting ready. About half our girls use the team bag and the rest use something else. I don't worry about their competition bags and they can use them if they want to. I'm sure the team will end up replacing them before they get too worn anyway because they always do. But in our situation it's easier to use something else, because it's easier to spot a unique bag among all the other bags lying around.
 
Gyms are all SO different. I can't imagine a gym providing snacks and I can't imagine a gym without cubbies either. In the OPs situation it seems reasonable to use the bag. Ours only get use for competitions and when they travel, as their carry-on. We have not had an actual backpack yet anyway. ODD has a giant duffel and YDD has an actual roll aboard suitcase thing.
 
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My dd just said the other day that some of her teammates bring their team backpack to practice and now she wants to. I think her coach might have mentioned putting tape in her bag for rips too. I don't have a problem with it if she wants to. Although we have cubbies and she really has nothing to put in the bag and their backpacks are too large to fit in the cubbies. But I have seen more than one sitting in front of the cubbies, so I know it's been done and doesn't seem to be a big deal.

TBH, I let her use her gym backpack as a school backpack for the first month of the school year. :eek: ;)
She wanted a new backpack and I didn't want to buy one until they went on sale (we have year round school here so she started in July, but the good sales aren't until late August when the traditional calendar starts). She only used it 5 times last year during the season and honestly it's very solid and sturdy and I figured it would survive. She only stopped using it because the competition season is starting and she didn't want to have to clean it out before every meet.
 
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We don't have snacks or drinks, except the water fountain. No cubbies or coat racks either

Back packs are their cubbies. So in winter, it's coats, sweats, shoes. Then the year round stuff, gym shoes, extra socks, rip kit and tape grips, brush, snack, food for the ride home, extra napkins, spoons and forks. Hair kit, with competition bun stuff (so it's never forgotten). Extra copy of her music.

The gym bags with their names save chaos and confusion at the end of practice.
 
Team bags are not supposed to be used at practice, per our coach. They are supposed to look clean and nice for meets. In addition, since they all look the same, the potential for someone to grab someone else's bag is too high even with their names on them. In fact, it happened on Tuesday of this week. The girl we carpool with had her bag taken from the team room by another team girl by accident because it was in the same spot as her bag. They don't check their names, they just grab the bag and go. DD has a very LOUD pattern gym bag so there's never any question which one is hers LOL.

As for what they need, I can't imagine NOT bringing a bag to practice. Grips, extra hair ties/brush, tape, snacks, sweatshirt, her foot braces, her goal book (something their whole team does). there's not a single girl who doesn't bring a bag.
 
The majority of the girls at DDs gym use their comp bag for practice. They aren't getting dirty or destroyed going back and forth to the gym, and this way we also don't have to worry about double packing everything in a competition and practice bag. At competitions I have not seen anyone checking out the other team's bags beyond "oh cool! They have the same one as us!" so I'm not to worried about DD's being in pristine shape anyway :)
 
you have team bags ? We have been short-changed !;)
This is the first year our girls will have one. We found a nice one for $17 with embroidery. A few bring it to practice. I think it's bad idea, as I'm not sure of the quality yet. As well there is a velcro component to the strap, so I just see that getting worn easily. We'd like to use the same bag for a few years.

We decided to do a bag for a couples reasons. First, a lot of the girls wanted one. Second, some girls brought nothing with them to meets. All of them having a bag encourages them to being stuff. The coach also sent out a few ideas for what to bring, ie tape, hair stuff, snacks and spare leo.
 

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