Completely different story if water is not provided.

In non regular games, such as aau and summer ball there are many times when theres no water. Its different in the normal games because the whole staff is there. If there is no water provided, ill get a gatorade and take it to the bench or hand it down. I usually would do it before the game or the half. Usually my kid looks over and gives me the drink sign. There is always water during regular season so its not an issue. There may have been a time when he was dealing with shin splints and cramps and I left him a gatorade before a game to get more electrolytes. During the summer, ive bought 5 or 6 bottles and gave them to the whole team. Its not an issue of not drinking after everyone, its just trying to keep everyone hydrated.

I've never paid enough attention to be able to answer my own question, but I've often wondered if teams take any precautions to make sure each player has their own bottle to drink from?

I admittedly am a germaphobe, and I believe with good reason.

 

Is this at all a concern with teams, or is everyone swigging out of bottles not considering that others have been swigging out of it too?

 

Cups are right on top or next to the water jug.

It bugs me when parents go over to the bench, during the game, to give their son or daughter a Gatorade. When I was a kid, my mom never approached the bench during a game to give me anything. I drank from the jug at the end of the bench.

 

Am I just too much of a stick in the mud?

 

If this is regarding High School ball see below.

 

Overreacting...yes.

Is it a big deal...no.

Should a parent do this....no.

Should a coach allow "parental visits" during a game....no.

Should little Johnny have a discussion with his parents and ask them to stay in the stands....yes.

It happens in AAU all of the time, but that is a little different. The kids may be playing multiple games throughout a complex, there is no water provided. Plus, they have conditioned this generation not drink after anyone or drink from a community jug, even with disposable cups.

 

I am guilty of doing it, but it was always at halftime.

In grade school my sons would look over and give me the universal "Drink" sign if they had gone through the bottle they took with them. In Highschool I'm not sure they even knew where I sat (even though I was probably in the front row). Not sure I've seen a HS game where a cooler was not at the end of the bench. Or the team manager brought them over bottles in the huddles.

Cups are right on top or next to the water jug.

 

I guess what I'm referring to for example is when a timeout is called and the water boy is handing out a bunch of identical gatorade bottles that players swig out of from the mouth piece holes and then hands them back to him. Are these bottles specially marked at all for each kid, or are they just drinking out of random bottles that end up being drank out of randomly again at the next break in action?

I guess what I'm referring to for example is when a timeout is called and the water boy is handing out a bunch of identical gatorade bottles that players swig out of from the mouth piece holes and then hands them back to him. Are these bottles specially marked at all for each kid, or are they just drinking out of random bottles that end up being drank out of randomly again at the next break in action?

 

 

They are squeeze bottles. No mouth to bottle contact.

I see it at halftime of a LOT of U10 soccer games...but never during the game itself.

 

It's almost the norm on the soccer field. It drives me crazy when they go over and start talking to the coach. I never go to the other sideline unless my child calls me over due to an injury. I've gone over a handful of times over the past few years at halftime and during a game to tape an ankle, but that's it. I don't say anything about the game while over there.

 

I have yet to see it during a high school game of any sport. I'm not the type that would ever do it, but I don't think there's much harm if they're just delivering a gatorade and not saying anything else.

...also, if I let him buy it, you know im not gonna get that change back

My parents didn't come to my games, Gatorade wasn't invented, our drinks came from a water fountain. Wow I'm old,

Is it a big deal? Nah. IMO though, when a kid gets into high school, he/she should be responsible enough to take care of this him/herself before the game. It's part of the maturity process.

I don't have a problem with it as long as the parent just hands off the Gatorade. As Mark stated, no one knows the full story, and if the coach doesn't have an issue with it why should anyone else?

 

Teams/schools are on a budget, many can't afford to have dozens of bottles of Gatorade on hand for every game. It's not like at UK where in the Kraft Center you have a Gatorade fountain drink machine (I love that machine, lol). I look at it this way, let my kid focus on the game, and if it looks like he needs Gatorade, then I'll worry about it while he keeps playing. As far as the water or Gatorade bucket, who knows what germs are in there as well, but the other health issues such as cramping happen all the time.

 

I am bad with germs, when I work near UC I always have a large orange Gatorade, but if someone I know tries to help themselves to a even a sip, I'm done with the entire bottle. If they ask, and if I would allow them to have some, I would tell them to get a cup.

It's between the coach, player, and parent...

Unless the parent is saying something more than a simple "good job", "keep battling", etc, I say who cares.

Some of these gyms are only SLIGHTLY cooler that my turkey filled oven on Thanksgiving Day. A gatorade is probably more appropriate.

 

Back in dad's day, water discipline meant the weak got thirsty.

In my day, I don't remember anyone running around with bottles of gatorade. The gatorade we got, when lucky enough, was the parent or coach dumping a couple pouches of the powder mix into the big water jug.

Today, I buy multiple cases at Sam's - more often than I'd care to admit. Heck, most of the time I have a bottle or two in my camera bag in case, my kid, myself, or one of the other players need it.

 

I think this is along the lines of the thread back in football season about matching socks... (not a negative towards lady camel)

They are squeeze bottles. No mouth to bottle contact.

 

Watch very closely, many times mouths do touch the top of the bottle, as well how it's handled.