Dear Team,

College can get to be a lot at times. This being said, it’s really comforting to know that there are 15 girls that I can count on for anything and everything. Being a part of a team means that for one, there’s always something to do and two, you’re my family away from home. I know that if I called one of you girls at 4 a.m. and said I needed you, you’d show up without question.

Bus rides can truly make or break your life and sometimes, more often than not, there are those long and awful road trips to places in the middle of absolutely nowhere. There are 15 girls, the coaching staff, managers, and equipment all tightly packed into one, extremely small space. If you’re an upperclassman, then you’re lucky because you’ll normally get one whole row to sprawl out and get as comfortable as you possibly can. It’s always a little annoying being crammed together on the bus, but honestly, this is where most of the fun happens. There’s a great opportunity and endless amounts of time to pull pranks on one another and the coaches if you’re feeling really rebellious, send Snapchats of that one person who always passes out with her mouth wide open to everyone on your buddy list, watch stupid movies and just talk. I’m not going to lie, I hate long road trips, but there wouldn’t be another group of people I’d rather spend hours of hell with than my teammates. So thank you for keeping me sane.

Clothes are a very integral part of every girl’s life. A lot of the time it feels like you never have enough and there’s always that need to go shopping. Luckily, you have an additional 15 closets when you’re on a team. It’s easy to track people down and snag all the clothes that you need and on the flip side you know where to find people when you want your stuff back. So thank you. Thank you for saving me from potential fashion crises.

It’s really common to find teams that travel in packs. I know that wherever there’s one of us, there’s sure to be at least five more right around the corner. The thing is, most teammates are friends first and actually enjoy hanging out with one another when we’re not at practice. So thank you, for making it look like I have a lot of friends, you all are the real MVP’s!

Living situations are also made a lot easier when you have this automatic group of friends. I know for a fact that there are no other people I’d rather live with than my teammates. We may argue, complain and fight with one other, but at the end of the day if anyone else tried that we’d all pounce and they wouldn’t know what hit them. It also helps that we’re all on the same schedules and don’t have to worry about roommates going out and partying the night before a game. So thank you for being that annoying sister I never wanted, putting up with my endless amounts of bullshit and also always having my back.

There are a lot of ups and downs that go into a playing season. You might not be getting the amount of playing time that you hoped for, bombed a test or just extremely stressed out by life. But that’s okay, because there is a group of people who know you better than you may know yourself. They have your best interests at heart and truly want to see you succeed. They are going through the same things that you are and can easily relate and talk some sanity into you when you’re having a mental breakdown. These friends are like a gnat you can’t get rid of and the backbone you can’t sit straight up without. At the end of the day, you’re stuck with these girls for life and everyone knows that. They’re your best friends, your sisters and most importantly your teammates.

So thank you for being your lovely, awesome selves!

Much Love,

Your appreciative teammate xoxo