Group sports trips let kids get a taste of what it’s like to
be LeBron James on a road trip, playing in front of larger-than-usual crowds
and against better teams. So whether you’re the parent of a little leaguer or
the coach of a college team, let Groople.com give you an assist on planning
your next out-of-town game. There are plenty of reasons to don those away
uniforms, including:
- A chance to face better competition. If you’re a college coach,
your team has its schedule set. But if your team is in high school or younger,
they may need to look out of town or state to find the kind of competition that
challenges and improves them. This is particularly likely if your charges win a
big tournament and get invited to a bigger, more prestigious tournament, like a
state or regional championship.
- Bonding, bonding, bonding. Sure, team spirit comes about
naturally when a group of kids and adults get together daily or weekly to
sweat, practice and improve. But just think about the long-lasting, deep bonds
that develop when players and coaches get away from their familiar homes, gyms
and practice fields and have to function as a team in everything they do.
- It’s not just about the game. One of the nice things about state,
regional or national tournaments in any sport is they often happen to take
place in interesting destinations. Take advantage of your time in a place like
a state capital to visit important cultural and historical sites.
Plan Your Trip:
Think Vince Lombardi or Phil Jackson ever went into a game
without a plan? Not likely. When it comes to travel, let Groople.com be your
assistant coach. A few pointers:
- Create a Groopvine page. There, you will be able to
communicate with other players, parents and coaches; set up polls to
decide on hotels, transportation and meals; share information about your
destination; and even share pictures of the winning goal and trophy
presentation once you return.
- Find a hotel. Groople will help you find a hotel within
your price range featuring all the amenities you’ll want, like laundry
facilities for those stinky uniforms and a pool to relax in after the
game. Groople can find the best group rates for your team, and will enable
everyone in your group to pay separately.
- Use Groopvine to discuss how close or far from the playing
venue you want to stay. Often, staying near a field or arena will mean
paying a bit more, but it also will eliminate the stress of a game day
drive from out of town.
- Decide on your itinerary. Communicate via Groopvine to
make plans ahead of time for activities you’ll want to book before you go.
Tips for Planning your Sports Team Trip:
It’s an old adage in sports that the team that is able to
tune out distractions and focus is the one that’s most likely to prevail. When
you use Groople.com to plan your away game travel you’re already outsmarting
your opponent. Here are some other ways to do it:
- Book early. To get a block of affordable rooms within
walking distance of the field or gym where your team is playing takes some
advance planning, ideally 90 to 120 days in advance. If you know where
you’re going and when, start making plans.
- Get a hotel that includes breakfast. You’re going to spend
enough time shuttling players to and from games and practices, so why not
eliminate at least one trip outside the hotel by eating in? Also consider
calling the concierge ahead of time to find out about nearby casual dining
restaurants for dinner, or to see whether the hotel would be willing to
cater any meals for your hungry athletes.
- Try to get rooms adjacent to one another. There are almost
always more players than there are coaches and parents. Keeping everyone
in a relatively confined area will make it a lot easier to corral people
for meals and games. Other guests will thank you, too!
- Use Groople.com to be sure your check-in goes smoothly.
Checking in to a hotel by yourself can be a bear, so imagine what it’s
like with a large group of tired and hungry athletes. Groople.com will
streamline check-in by arranging to have keys ready ahead of time and, if
necessary, blocking incidental privileges, like renting pay per view
movies.