I play for the Gloversville summer league softball team sponsored by the Sacandaga Veterinary Clinic and coached by Missy Hale. Our team, which had an 8-2 record and placed third for the playoffs, consisted of 13 players. We weren't only teammates, we were friends - always there for each other on the field and off the field.

We also made up the Gloversville modified A softball team. We're a win-together, lose-together team through all softball games.

The rules in summer league softball were different than modified softball, and the coaches were different. Lastly, we traveled to some new places and faced new teams and made new friends.

A few players on the team that I spoke to have some things to say about the rules, visiting new teams and new places, the summer league and joining softball. I spoke to Katlyn Pierce, Ashley Funk and Shawna Funk. Katlyn, the catcher, said she liked the differences in the rules for summer league because one of the rules gives everyone a chance to bat, no matter if they sat the bench or not. She liked that because it gave us more chances to practice hitting. In modified, if you sat the bench, you couldnt bat.

Ashley, the team's pitcher, also likes the batting rule, but she doesn't like some of the other rules, including the one that says you can only pitch four innings. In modified, you are allowed to pitch the whole game. She also doesn't like how there is no mercy rule. She dislikes beating some teams by a bunch of runs because we are a strong team.

Shawna, also one of the pitchers, doesn't like how the rules are different in summer league from the rules in modified because we just got done playing modified, and then we go to playing summer league and the rules are confusing.

Lastly, I like the rules better than modified because I think that it gives us more playing time with the batting rules and not having the mercy rule.

Traveling to new places and competeing against new teams is exciting, but there is a downside to it. Katlyn says she likes traveling to new places because the car rides are fun, and we play a new team all the time - not the same team five times like in modified.

Ashley, on the other hand, likes the new competition but doesn't like going to a new field every week. She just wishes we could have every game at our field, the field we're used to.

Shawna agrees with Katlyn - she loves the car rides, visiting a ton of new places and the experiences against the new teams.

The thing that I like about traveling is that our team gets to see places and it gives us a chance to see excellent teams and not-so-great teams, and we learn where the strong places and the weaker places are.

Summer-league softball is an incredible experience, but what's so incredible about it? Well, Katlyn thinks that it's because were playing with all our friends, she loves the game and everyone makes it so much fun. Ashley thinks playing with the same team for modified and summer league, winning and losing side by side, and becoming better and closer through the season makes it fun.

Shawna says that it's so much fun because you're with all your friends and your with coaches.

Summer league, to myself, is a wonderful time because it lets us play more of a sport we love to play. It's not only a game, it's like a party. We have a great time together, especially being with the same team we had during modified season.

If you love softball and can't seem to get enough of the game after your school season is over, or even if you love the game and do not play for your school or your local Little League, inquire with a coach or your local Little League about a summer league near you. You will be glad you did and I am sure that you will have a really fun time meeting new people and going to new places.