Traveling is one of the most beautiful experiences you can enjoy, especially when, as a soccer player, you get to bring your soccer ball along with you. At one point in our lives, we had thought of traveling with our soccer ball but wondered if it’ll be allowed or how well to package it to make it convenient for travel.
More often than not, we figure it’s easier to purchase another soccer ball than go through the perceived stress of traveling with the ball. You don’t have to spend more money in your new destination purchasing another ball.
There are easy steps to enable you to travel with your soccer ball. When next you intend to travel, have it in mind to ensure that your soccer ball makes it to your new destination.
So how can you travel with your soccer ball? In this article, you will learn how to travel with soccer balls.
Quick Navigation
- How to Travel with a Soccer Ball?
- Conclusion
How to Travel with a Soccer Ball?
From going to school to exploring a new destination, humans cannot escape traveling. As a soccer player, games can have you moving from one location to another. If you’re considering air travel, you may be wondering if it’s possible to travel along with your soccer ball on the plane.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing a new ball or making use of another when you get to your new location. If you would love to bring along your ball, then you’re reading the right article.
To help you out with this, here is a combination of steps and methods you can apply to make your travel with your soccer ball a whole lot easier.
Start by deflating the ball
This probably may not come out right to you at first, especially if you pictured traveling with the fully inflated ball. Before you move on, please read on to understand why this is a good idea.
Inflated balls take up more space and make it challenging to arrange your bags properly. It is recommended to travel with a deflated soccer ball to save you from the stress during the trip.
There are laid down guidelines and rules for traveling. The guidelines for traveling by bus or train are not as strict as what is obtainable in air travel. Since air travel is mostly across countries and continents, they have more stringent guidelines to ensure the safety of passengers and their luggage.
To understand why it’s not a good idea to put an inflated soccer ball on an airplane as carry-on luggage, one has to understand the nature and design of airplanes. Within the passenger cabin in an airplane exists strong air pressure.
Experts predict that inflated soccer balls have a greater chance of exploding at high altitudes. Hence, you will have to deflate the ball to avoid causing any form of explosion during the flight.
Now that we’ve all agreed that it’s best to deflate soccer balls before getting on an airplane, you’ll need tools to be able to conveniently and properly deflate the ball. One of the best ways of deflating a soccer ball is by using an inflation needle.
When you fix the needle properly in the ball’s valve, the air pressure within the soccer ball is released with ease.
Note: the inflation needle can be used to either inflate the ball or deflate it.
After deflating the ball, put it in your bags with a soccer ball pump. You need to invest in a soccer ball pump to help you inflate the ball when you arrive at your new location.
Pros
- Deflating the ball makes it easier to enter your luggage.
- If you’re traveling by air, for safety reasons, it helps to prevent the ball from exploding.
Cons
- You could damage the valve while trying to deflate the soccer ball.
- Deflated balls will need to be inflated. This means you have to carry along a pump as extra luggage.
Put the ball in appropriate luggage
As you prepare to travel, you may need to bring more than one piece of bag, depending on the duration of your journey. With different luggage, you have to know the right one to put the deflated ball.
If you are traveling by bus or train, you may have to put the soccer ball in any luggage. But when traveling by air, you will have to abide by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The terrible events of September 11, 2001, in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia led to the creation of the TSA. TSA has provided guidelines to guide passengers on what to bring to the plane and what to exclude from their bags.
If luck is anything to go by for soccer-loving fans, the TSA included a soccer ball on the list of items that can be brought on an airplane. TSA urges passengers to bring soccer balls in carry-on bags or checked-in bags, as long as it follows the stipulated guidelines.
You can find this rule when you check the general rules of TSA under the What Can I Bring section. Following these rules will ensure that your bags are closely monitored, and the soccer ball is in a safe condition for the journey ahead.
Pros
- Putting the soccer ball in carry-on or checked-in bags keeps you and everyone safe on the flight.
- Keeping the soccer ball in the appropriate luggage protects the integrity of the ball
- Putting the ball in a bag makes it much easier for you to travel without bothering about your ball’s safety.
Surround the ball with smooth objects or materials
When it comes to puncture holes in soccer balls, people’s mind immediately conjures images of inflated balls getting compromised. Deflated balls are also vulnerable to punctures if not properly handled and stored.
As you arrange the carry-on bag or checked-in bag, you should make some considerations to ensure that the ball’s integrity is not compromised in any way. Since it’s almost impossible to have only the soccer balls in luggage, it’s best to surround it with smooth and soft items like clothes.
Sharp objects can easily create a hole within the ball. A punctured soccer ball creates another problem of finding ways to fix it. To avoid having to deal with this additional stress, take care how you package the luggage you intend to put the soccer ball in.
If you’ll be traveling by air, the TSA already helps you exclude sharp objects and goods from your luggage; you should consider removing them from your bags. Apart from the safety of your soccer ball, you will also avoid flight delays from the inspection team.
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Pros
- Excluding sharp objects from your bags will guarantee the safety of your soccer ball.
- You will provide a comfortable space for your ball and other vital items within your bags.
- Generally, excluding unnecessary sharp objects from your luggage, at the airport, will help reduce the inspection time.
Re-inflate the soccer ball in the right way
Congratulations, you have successfully traveled with your soccer ball. Now it’s time to re-inflate it back to enjoy a game of soccer. Re-inflation will restore the air pressure which you removed during the deflation stage.
With the right tools at hand, this is an easy procedure to perform. However, you risk causing damage to the valve and the ball in general if you fail to do it right.
Once you have your soccer ball pump and the inflation needle with you, the inflation process will be much easier. After re-inflation, go ahead to enjoy your game.
Pros
- Inflating the ball back to its standard shape before playing will enable you to enjoy the game better.
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Don’t travel with your best ball
When in doubt about the safety and conditioning of the soccer ball during travel, it may be wise not to travel with your favorite soccer ball.
Your chances of getting a damaged soccer ball at the end of your trip still exist. So you may consider traveling with other options while keeping your best soccer ball out of the list.
Write your name on the ball
Consider this as a way of tagging the ball, just in case it ever gets misplaced. No one ever plans to misplace things, so it’s best to have a backup plan should it ever occur.
Using permanent ink to write out your name will seem a little bit extreme. Since the soccer ball will not always be in transit, temporary ink can be used instead.
On the other hand, should the soccer ball find itself in the hands of a stranger, with your name and contact details, it may be easy to track you.
This in no way encourages you to write out your personal information on the ball. Your name might just be sufficient to locate you.
Pros
- Luggage gets lost in transit many times, so a soccer ball getting misplaced is not an out-of-this-world possibility. Tagging helps for easy identification.
Double-Check the travel company
Despite the rules mapped out by TSA to allow soccer balls in planes, some travel companies still have their unique requirements for travel. Even if the TSA has given you an order to travel with your ball, make time to check into the travel company and learn about its laws concerning soccer balls.
If the rules allow you to bring your soccer ball with you, check other specific guidelines to ensure that you do not violate any rule.
The same is applicable for land and water travel. It’s best to be sure about what is permissible and what isn’t to avoid being faulted or refused entry for negligence – when in doubt, always ask the right questions.
Pros
- Ignorance of laws is never an excuse. This step ensures you’re in the right standing with the travel company to avoid embarrassment when you’re about to board.
Bring your soccer repair tools
As much as we have focused on ways on how to safely and properly travel with your soccer ball, it would be incomplete if we don’t also prepare for when things don’t go according to plan.
You have followed all the steps and ensured you kept to all of the travel guidelines but somehow, you still end up with a damaged soccer ball. What do you do?
Always ensure you travel with simple soccer repair DIY tools. These would always come in handy as a quick way to fix ball damages.
Let’s assume there was no immediate damage to the soccer ball during transit, it’s still best if you have these soccer repair tools should you run into problems with the ball at your new location.
Since some of these tools may be considered banned on some modes of transportation, it’s best to always ask the company’s representative on what is allowed to take along with you.
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Pros
- Bringing your repair tools along means that you don’t have to purchase a new set of tools when you reach your new destination.
- With repair tools within reach, you can make repairs easily when they occur.
Cons
- Not all items are allowed for travel. You may still need to buy some items when you arrive at your destination.
Conclusion
It is possible to travel with your soccer ball if you follow the stipulated guidelines of the travel company. With different modes of transportation, come different ways to safely and conveniently travel with the ball.
For land travels, soccer balls may not need to be deflated but extra care should be taken on how it is packaged and handled. The same cannot be said for air travel, as soccer balls are required to be deflated to avoid possible explosions when kept in the pressurized air cabin.
For what it’s worth, asking the right question will help you know what is allowed to be carried along with you as you travel.
Hi there, I’m Jay.
Soccer is everything in my life! My friends and I have created this blog with all our enthusiasm, passion, and understanding after years of playing pro soccer. Hope you will enjoy it!