Joining an athletic team has been an experience, to say the least. And, as anyone who has played a sport knows, sometimes you have to travel with your team to get to your game. Every part of the trip is, well, a trip. Between the traveling, stops along the way, a night in a hotel (if you're lucky enough to stay) and the actual game itself, so many incredibly strange and hilarious things happen. You get to see your team, and even your coach, in a new light, out of their natural habitat. It can bring you all closer or make you wonder why in the world you're there with them in the first place. For me, it's a little bit of both. Here are the stages of traveling with my team, as told by me this weekend, as I travel with my team.

Stage One: Waking Up

Why is it that when we travel, we're made to get up at some awful hour? Especially on a weekend. Weekends are meant for rest because your body is tired from practicing all week! But, never mind that. Stage One may be the worst, but you never know what to expect in Stage Two.

Stage Two: The Ride

Some teams get to take buses. Nice charter buses. But sometimes, teams have to take school buses or vans. Cramped little Enterprise vans. It's intense. It's a chance to get really up and personal with your teammates, what they're like in the morning, how they fare on long car rides. You find out that people get a little stir crazy, hangry, and a little loopy when they're sleep deprived. And sometimes, if you're really lucky, it takes six hours to get to a place that's only three and a half hours away. But some of us are just lucky. Now we go to Stage Three.

Stage Three: The Stops

When I travel with my family, we try and have as little amount of stops as possible, but I know that if I need to stop it's not a big deal. But, when someone is threatening to pee in a bottle if we don't stop, we stop. We're athletes, we have to stay hydrated, which is probably the worst thing to do on car rides. Drinks are a car ride's worst enemy. And then if we stop, we all have to get out to stretch our legs, get fresh air, use the bathroom and probably buy more food and drinks for the rest of the ride, or for the hotel. Which brings us to the optional Stage Four.

Stage Four: The Hotel

This stage is optional. If you are lucky enough to stay somewhere, or unlucky enough to have to bond overnight (depends on how you look at it), welcome to Stage Four! The hotel is an interesting, magical part of this journey. In this case, you are now stuck in a room with most likely three other people that you may or may not be friends with. They might snore. They might sleep walk. They could fart in their sleep. But, there's nothing you can do but try to get a good night's sleep for your game. (Unless you're staying after your game, which in that case Stage Four would come later). There's always something that comes over a team when they're in a hotel together. And maybe it's just us, but we've been reminded that we're not the only guests multiple times. Maybe we're a little too loud...

Stage Five: The Game

On the way to the game, it can be really crazy, or really quiet as everyone slips into game mode. Game faces are on, uniforms are on and the time to win is now. There's just something about being in a locker room before a game. The hype is in the atmosphere and you all feel so close. Like a family. Like a team. And it's such a crazy good feeling. And then you have to go out and destroy the other team.

Stage Six: After The Game

So you've played. If you've won, the locker room is a place of continued hype. You're all still on a high. If you've lost, it can be quiet and lighthearted, everyone in their own heads. Then the bruises and bumps start coming into focus and now you're sore and tired and sweaty. But, the good news is, there's a shower and some type of good food headed your way. This is where you continue to be a team, or you go your separate ways until next time. Then it's back to the buses and the process starts all over again for the next away game.

I'm sure more stages will form as the year goes on and our traveling becomes longer and crazier. But, I think these stages are pretty universal for most teams. If you understand me, then please keep me in your thoughts as I continue to travel with these crazy people!