I have spent enough weekends on the sidelines of lacrosse fields to have opinions. Lacrosse tournaments usually mean a flight for us, so everything on my list has to fit in a suitcase.

Basketball tournaments are the easy ones. Just a lot of games, a lot of sneakers squeaking and whistles blowing, and bleachers that remind you that you're not as young as you used to be.

You will spend nine hours inside a convention center for a routine that lasts a minute and a half. That is not a complaint. That is just the math.

7v7 is a different animal than a full pads weekend. Less gear. More games. And in Texas, significantly more sun. So my list gets shorter. My hydration list does not.

After four kids and more weekends on sidelines than I could ever count, these are the things that come with me no matter what sport we're playing.