One item I’ve started to carry around in my coaches bag is Sharpie markers. Keeping track of your practice balls is hard enough, but if your name wears off, you’ll find they disappear quickly. But you always will notice the faded writing when you don’t have markers handy. A number of teams will sign each other’s soccer balls at the end of a season, especially if they’re moving up an age bracket and likely will be on new teams in the Fall. After a while I had been caught without a permanent marker enough, I started to carry a couple around. But they always would settle to the bottom of whatever pocket they were in and digging them out was a pain. So the other day I solved that little problem. I found a set of mini-Sharpies that have eyelets on the caps. One cheap mini carabiner from Wal-Mart’s camping section, and voila! I have four sharpies that I can hang inside my bag (strap, inner zipper handle, etc) or even toss in a pocket, knowing they’ll be easier to find. Plus – if you hand out the marker to someone – the cap stays with you – so it won’t get lost!

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I know, I know. This is so OCD it’s not funny. But for $7 or so, I thought it was a nifty idea.