Chapter 11: YOUR SHOPPING LIST – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer

You’re going to think of plenty of things to bring with you to preseason.

Excellent! Your room should be an oasis of self-sufficiency, and that takes preparation. When you’ve got an hour to nap between sessions, you don’t want to have to run to the store to buy something you forgot. Let me give you a few things that probably haven’t made your list but should.

Shoelaces – Everyone’s shoelaces break somewhere along the line and it’s never at a good time. If your laces snap when you’re tying up your cleats for the evening scrimmage, you don’t want to spend 30 minutes trying to find a replacement while the game goes on without you. Carry a spare pair in your soccer bag. As a matter of fact, carry two. Then you’ll be able to help out a friend.

Febreeze – Spray down your dirty laundry with Febreeze to keep your room from smelling like the inside of your goalkeeper’s gloves.

Dr. Scholl’s Odor X Spray – It’s Febreeze for your feet! Spray it on your feet to keep them healthy and spray it inside your cleats to keep them from stinking up your entire hallway.

A&D Ointment / Zinc Oxide Cream – There’s an exceptionally high likelihood that you’re going to experience a physical discomfort that I will politely refer to as swamp butt. And nothing is more irritating than a good old-fashioned case
of swamp butt. A&D Ointment and Zinc Oxide Cream will get you back to normal pretty quickly, and you’ll be very thankful that you brought them along.

Toilet Paper – When you have a case of swamp butt, that’s not the time you want to discover that the dormitory toilet paper isn’t quite as fluffy as you like. Bring a few rolls of your personal favorites just in case.

Cooler – You’re going to need ice at all hours of the day and night. A cooler on hand will save you the trouble of hauling yourself out of your room or out of your building to reload your ice bags.

Ace Bandages – Use them to tie your ice packs to your body.

Pre-wrap – Because of its many functions, pre-wrap is like duct tape for soccer players.

Sun Block – You’ll be outside 4-6 hours a day in August. Protect yourself. You’ve got enough to worry about; you don’t need a sunburn.

Aloe – For those times when you forgot to apply your sun block. Keep it in your dorm fridge for maximum relief.

Lip Protection – You’re going to be doing a lot of breathing through your mouth which can lead to a severe case of chapped lips. No fun.

Bug Spray – Nothing disappears faster during preseason than bug spray. Keep a can stashed away in your soccer bag for those times when the trainer’s supply runs out.

Shoe Polish / Mink Oil – Preserve the life of your boots and help them keep their shape by shining them up each day. Shining your shoes is also a subtle yet effective way to show that you take yourself seriously as a soccer player.

Newspaper – When your shoes are wet, as they will likely be after each morning and evening session, the best way to dry them out is to stuff them with balls of newspaper. The problem is usually finding the newspaper. Bring some along with you and you’ll be one step ahead of the game.

Two Alarm Clocks – That’s right, two. As in plural. Why? Well, for starters, one might not do the trick. More importantly, if one fails, you have a back-up. Keep your alarm clock several feet from the bed. This will force you to get out of bed to shut that sucker off. Once you get to your feet, you’re much less likely to fall back asleep.

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