Organization is Key

               As an athlete, I know I am always hustling and bustling from one practice to the next. Your day seems to never end, even when your head hits the pillow late at night, because you know you still have to wake up in less than eight hours and relive this journey once again. As you begin this daily trek, you really need to make sure you are organized and have the right equipment for the correct practices, or else you could end up having to speed home to pick up the correct gear. To help myself stay organized, I like to carry different types of athletic bags, and whether it be a drawstring bag, backpack, or duffle depends on what type of equipment I have and how much space I need to store it.

Nike Drawstring Bag

              The most basic and simplest form of organization I’ve seen through bags, is what most describe as the drawstring bag. For most popular sports brands like Nike and Adidas, these types of bags retail at around $15-$20. They are about the size of an average shoe box and some of these bags have a small pocket on the inside to store items like a phone, keys, or money. I find the drawstring bag very helpful when I only need a pair of shoes, or maybe when I just need to carry a few extra articles of clothing. This type of bag is also nice to have if you don’t want something that is really heavy or takes up a lot of space in your locker.

Nike Elite Basketball Bag

          My favorite type of athletic bag to carry would be a backpack. Currently for both basketball and soccer I carry backpacks, which are the Nike Elite and the Adidas Estadio II respectively. What I really like about having a backpack for both sports is that they are the perfect size to fit all of my equipment, and they don’t take up a lot of space as compared to a duffel bag. A major reason I like backpack more is that they are more comfortable to carry because the weight is evenly distributed amongst your shoulders rather than all the weight being supported by one shoulder, which happens with a duffel and can sometimes lead to injury. Also, I like the fact that with most athletic backpacks, there are multiple pockets, so you don’t have to stuff your smelly shoes in the same pocket as your clean clothes.

Nike Duffle Bag

              If you need to carry a lot of equipment and clothing to numerous places, then I suggest that the duffle bag is you best option. One really convenient quality about the duffle bag is that they come in many different sizes within themselves. So, after you’ve decided that you want a duffle bag, you can then go and decide which size you need based on the amount of stuff you need to carry. In the previous paragraph I talked about some of the drawbacks to this type of bag, but there are also many positives to it outside of the amount of stuff it can carry. If you invest in a duffel bag for a certain sport, I see it as a 2-in-1 deal because you can use it for the specific sport, and if you need to travel it is big enough to fit all your clothes, shoes, and toiletries. I think the duffel bag is a great choice if you need something that can have multiple uses because it is big enough to fit a wide array of equipment.
             When deciding on what bag is best for you, I think the key aspect is the size because if it’s not big enough to fit all your stuff, then what’s the point in getting a bag in the first place. Also another big aspect is the comfort factor, because you have to remember that you will be carrying this bag day after day, hour after hour, you don’t want to get a bag that may cause injury to your back or shoulders. In the end it all comes down to preference, and I hope that my insight on these different types of bags gave you a better understanding as to which one fits your crazy lifestyle best!

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