Softball is a sport that I have grown up with for most of my life. It is one of the two sports that I actually stuck with and found a love for, and as I entered high school, I found my love for both travel ball and high school softball because of the many different aspects each program brings me.

Although they deal with the exact same sport, the vibes in high school ball and travel ball differ, and I only gain excitement through certain aspects of each, making them feel completely different at the same time. The girls on both my travel ball and high school teams have become some of my best friends, and I have a unique bond with each and every one of them. I tend to prefer my travel ball practices more than school practices because I know I will be attending a drama-free dugout where everyone respects one another. We have all worked hard to earn our spots on the team, and we are all aware of each other’s talents which helps us become a seamless team. Unfortunately, high school ball is not always like that. While most of the players on the team are also on a travel ball team, I do not feel the same kind of bond, and for some odd reason, we cannot figure out how to work in unison. This gets frustrating because there is a lack of communication between players, and I think that many girls lose confidence during the high school season.

Another reason I prefer to play travel ball is because it is way more competitive. During our high school season, it is more common than not to either get mercied or mercy the other team. A close game and hard fought battle by the players is not very common since many girls on other teams are in the same position I am in. During our travel tournaments, we are playing to win. This does not just mean to win the game, but it means our goal every weekend is to win the tournament we are in. The energy is always at a high level when we are in our tournaments, and everyone puts forth their best efforts to make the easy plays. This is another element I do not see in high school ball. The simple, routine plays that we see every time we play end up with errors by our fielders which makes the games drag on even longer. Without making simple plays, we cannot move on to the fun stuff like double plays and trick plays like our travel teams perform in the summer.

Some things in life are not the same no matter how many similarities are shared. So, with all due respect and all honesty, although the exact same sport is being played all year round, I wish that I was having the same amount of fun and the same amount of love for the sport regardless of what team I am on.