This past week, the softball season officially began. Even though season starting means a busier schedule, increased food intake, and laundry being done every other day, it’s the start of another year of competing, team bonding, and getting to play the best sport in the world.

Indoor softball practice is the best and worst time of the season. It’s the worst because you feel closed in and you can’t practice some things to their full potential because you’re limited by the ceiling, the walls, and the hard floor. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling are sometimes worse than the sun because there’s hundreds of them. The ball bounces twenty times harder when it’s coming off the gym floor and towards your face. Fly balls get lost in the rafters when they get hit at too high of an angle.But, it's the best because indoor practice signifies the start of the road to the spring break trip and the regular season. You finally get to play with your teammates again after months of waiting. The struggles and fun that come with indoor practice can be easily relayed by a softball player, but I think that the characters of Spongebob do it more justice.

When you gather with your team before practice

Because you didn't just see each other at lifting yesterday

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When you're done with the warm up

Breathe in that sweet, sweet air

When coach knows you didn't stay in shape over break

Running has never hurt so much.

When coach says get on the line

But why?

When you get your first water break

The best water you've ever tasted.

When you're doing "4 corners" and someone drops the ball

We were so close.

When everyone is making mistakes during practice

Utter chaos

When you see live pitching for the first time in months

The ball moves so much

When coach lectures you in the middle of practice

The longest 30 minutes of your life

When you're an outfielder and the team is working on run downs

The reason outfielders are the best base runners

When it's time to scrimmage

It's the best practice day ever.

When the ball takes a funky bounce and hits you in the face

When a fly ball gets hit into the rafters

You don't know when or where it's coming down

When you dive on the gym floor

I can feel the floor burn just thinking about it.

When you get in the ice bath after practice

It might be the worst ten minutes of your life

When you're carrying your bag, a bucket of balls, and bases

When you finally get to eat after practice

When you get back to your room after practice

The bed has never felt so comfy

When you get to play softball with your favorite people in the world

With the excitement and struggle that come along with the indoor season, with all the complaining that occurs when you’re there, below the surface you’re the happiest person on the planet because you’re playing the sport you love most with some of your favorite people and at the end of the day you wouldn’t give it up for anything.