This spring, seniors Ali Kiley and Sarah Boehm will wrap up their Archer athletic careers on the softball team. The Oracle sat down with the two to hear about their season so far.

What is your favorite thing about softball?

AK: I think my favorite thing about softball is my favorite thing about all sports, which is just the relationships I have made and the relationship I have with the team. It’s one of those sports where you can reset the way you think if you make an error. It’s more mental than other games are, so a big part of it is the intensity and the mental game.

SB: I like using hand-eye coordination. There’s a certain buzz in the game that builds especially when [there are] two teams that are really competitive, and we get to experience that firsthand. It’s such a team sport and one part can’t work without another, so using that team dynamic helps us all bond and creates that atmosphere of trust and community that you don’t get in other sports.

What makes softball different from other sports?

AK: Since it’s slower paced and since individual people get up to bat, it’s much more about cheering each other on than other sports. I play soccer and I run cross country, and when you’re in it, you are much more involved. While it’s the same in softball we are cheering each other on and that verbal support you are not able to give during cross country or in the middle of a soccer game, and I think being able to support each other is a big part of it.

How has traveling shaped the dynamic of the team?

AK: This is the first year we have traveled at least since I have been on the team, and I think that it made us a lot closer. We were getting to know the new players, and we have a bunch of freshman, so it helps integrate the team and makes the seniors much more approachable, and it made the team feel more at home.

SB: We bonded really well and had a lot of time to chill and chat, and that allowed us the get to know each other more personal because in practice we play the sport and then leave – there’s not really time to talk.

What are your goals for the season?

SB:  We want to win CIF (California Interscholastic Federation). I think constantly improving is a goal, and every game we want to improve our mistakes from the one before and continue to learn.

AK: Softball is a sport where it’s easy to have fun and bond together, and I think it’s a really great sport to finish our senior year on because it just brings us all together.