Your relationship with travel softball was never a walk in the park, but it was always worth it. Yes, you often had to turn down hanging out with friends on a Friday or Saturday night or say no to a beach day on the most beautiful day of the summer, but you’ve also had the time of your life. And you can probably relate to these nine things.

1. Being with your team after high school season ends.

Once high school season ended, the thing I most looked forward to was being back with my teammates from travel ball. We all knew and understood each other on and off the field and the bond we shared is something that I will never forget. I still wish we could all be playing together again at the start of every summer.

2. 8 AM games on Saturday.

Because an 8 AM game meant being there at 6:45. After a while, you start to wonder how many times your team can get stuck with an 8 AM game on Saturday. And then sometimes your last game isn’t until 2pm—what were they doing to us??

3. Winning all three games on Saturday and sleeping in on Sunday.

So it really isn’t the worst when you have to be up early on Saturday when you get to sleep in on Sunday. Usually, the first few seeds of the tournament get later games, so it’s a win-win (no pun intended).

4. Those long travel days.

Myrtle Beach, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia Beach. We’ve all been somewhere! You leave at the crack of dawn (or before) and sit in the car for hours with your families with an occasional pit stop for food and bathrooms. The memories you make while on these far away tournaments make the drive completely worthwhile, however.

5. A load of tournament t-shirts sitting in your closet.

My mom bought me a t-shirt at almost every single one of my tournaments, and I always felt so cool when I wore it the following Monday no matter where I went. Now, though, almost every single one of them sits in my dresser. The plan is to make a t-shirt quilt out of them one day—a way to hold onto those memories forever.

6. Getting to demo the newest bats and feeling like David Ortiz at the plate.

Most tournaments had the latest and greatest bats, and the bats had a certain power that made you feel unstoppable.

7. Being the on-deck batter when the time runs out.

These times were the worst because they usually happened when you finally got in the zone and envisioned yourself hitting the ball over the fence and knocking in the winning run. You felt so ready, only to see the umpire throw his hands up, ask the pitcher for the game ball, and usher everyone off the field.

8. Team lunches in between games.

Next to winning, team lunches were my favorite part about tournaments. Endless sandwiches and fruit salad, usually topped off with some kind of dessert—does it get any better? It was a great way to socialize with the team and their families while also refueling for our next game.

9. Hotel shenanigans with your teammates.

Whether it was scavenger hunts throughout the building or just hanging out in someone’s room, the times we spent in the hotels for far away tournaments were always so much fun. Bonding with one another is something so irreplaceable and it was great when we were all in the same place at the same time.

So as much as we may have complained in the moment, travel softball was life changing and an enjoyable time. Some of the best times of my life were those spent on the softball field in the summer months. The saying goes: “We didn’t know we were making memories, we just thought we were having fun.”