The sport of softball is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I have loved the game ever since stepping onto the field way back in elementary school. Throughout the years, I have often heard the same several comments from people about softball. All the other softball players and parents will understand where I am coming from.

Here are nine comments from people I hear almost on a weekly basis:

1. Baseball is harder. Baseball and softball are pretty similar, but they also have big differences. It is hard to compare these two sports when the ball size and the pitching style differs so much. I don’t believe softball is necessarily the harder sport, but what I don’t like is when people who play baseball think they can play the game of softball so much better than us softball players can.

2. Wow, nice tan lines! Thank you for pointing out one of the few things I can’t control. I know I have a farmers tan, raccoon eyes, and pale legs. That is what happens when you wear a softball uniform in 100 degree heat for 8 hours straight. It doesn’t matter how many times I go to the pool because the ugly tan lines will still be on my body all summer long.

3. Wait, why do you have softball on the weekend? As I have told many of friends multiple times before, softball tournaments always land on weekends therefore that is when we play our games. Yes, that may include the 4^th of July. That also means I can’t stay up really late on Saturday night because I probably have an 8 a.m. game the next morning. My weekends are booked up all summer long.

4.Isn’t it a little cold to be practicing outside? The answer is no. Sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy - it is basically never too bad outside to practice as many of my coaches would tell you. If it’s above freezing outside and the field isn’t in horrible shape, we will be practicing. Everything is different when you're outside. You can catch pop flies and actually see how the ball bounces so much different than in a gym.

5.You have man shoulders. Yes, I know I have man shoulders and I didn’t need to hear that from another person. You must have strong arms to be a good softball player, so that comes with looking buffer than the typical female. Putting on shirts that don't stretch can sometimes be difficult for us softball players.

6.Does that mean you’re a lesbian? For the billionth time, no. Softball is perceived as a sport that many lesbians play. Although that may be true, playing a sport doesn’t determine your sexuality. I have actually met very few lesbian softball players throughout the years. Yeah I get it, you non-softball players like to joke with us, but sometimes it becomes annoying. I have made the realization that these jokes will never go away so now I just laugh it off. We are just your typical athletes who sometimes cornrow each others hair to look intimidating.

7.Softball isn’t a contact sport; you’ll never get hurt like you will in other sports. Yeah sure, you might be right about the fact that softball isn’t a contact sport, but it still is very dangerous. I’ve seen an umpire nearly have a heart attack on the field from being hit by a foul ball. I’ve seen girls get concussions from diving head first into a base. I’ve seen girls drop to the ground after being hit by a ball coming at them at 100+ MPH. Injuries can happen in all sports whether they are contact sports or not.

8.Why do you have ice on your shoulder?Are you injured? Just because you see me lugging big bags of ice around my body does not mean I’m injured. Ice helps reduce swelling and inflammation. So basically, it helps me not get injured.

9.Why didn’t you catch that? I thought you played softball. Yes, I do play softball but don’t expect me to catch every random object you throw at me, especially when I’m not paying attention. I use a glove for a reason, not my bare hands.