Though most athletes form close bonds through practices and games, softball bats bonding experiences out of the park. Their infectious, positive energy not only comes from their on-the-field teamwork but also their memories creating candy buckets, eating out at restaurants whenever they can—Canes and BJ’s are their go-tos—and filming videos on their TikTok, @phs.theballisnotsoft. 

The account, run mainly by the senior athletes, includes videos inspired by online trends, according to team captain and sophomore Madison Robbins. Moreover, team activities traditionally include Fun Fridays, where the team play games and encourage each other through shoutouts, according to Alexandra Dobbs. These shoutouts are an opportunity to celebrate and recognize how an athlete positively impacted that team that week, according to Robbins. 

“A lot of times it’s after a long week of games or practice, so we just want to have fun,” Robbins said. “Throughout the week, we pay attention, and we’re noticing who’s doing really good that week or who’s talking in a positive way a lot.” 

Bonding experiences also include spending time together and completing fun challenges like following online trends and creating TikToks together, according to outfielder and senior Smira Sonthalia and Robbins. Before every home game, everyone contributes a bag of candy to create a candy bucket, an idea introduced by shortstop and senior Vianna Pineda. Robbins said the team finds it enjoyable because the reward of sugar motivates the team as they decide together what types of candy to include for the bucket.

“It keeps us entertained during the game and keeps our energy up because we have something to look forward to especially like before games and things like that,” Robbins said. “It makes it definitely makes our games more memorable.”

Having a close team allows the athletes to play better together, according to Dobbs. The close atmosphere helps improve communication between teammates, which is crucial to winning games, according to Sonthalia. 

“Without communication it’s almost impossible to win or even play the game,” Sonthalia said. “I think that communication is one of the most fundamental aspects of playing softball because you’re essentially working together to get one batter out with a whole team of nine on the field. You can’t play for yourself, but you need to play for the team.”

Sonthalia said the close bond between the players goes way back into previous years. She remembered members holding bonding sessions outside of on-campus softball events during her freshman and sophomore years. Robbins also remembered going to BJ’s for pazookies then Target to shop with the team.  

“We have dinner, have fun with our team and talk,” Robbins said.  “We’re all very excited and open to learning more about our teammates and just having fun.” 

In addition to these fun memories that the team gained in high school, the impact of these inseparable bonds will preserve these friendships many years into the future, according to Dobbs. By being part of the softball team, Robbins said that she learned how to maintain these friendships through alumni practices.

“It’s nice to see our teammates again, who we haven’t really seen in a while,” Robbins said. “It really just brings everybody’s energy up.”