I've got the shoes, I've got the shorts, I've got that queasy feeling in my stomach, and now it's time for it to start. I'm talking about basketball season, one of the hardest seasons of the year. With one week off from volleyball, which was amazingly relaxed, it is now time for me to suit up and prepare to get home at 7, again.

Yesterday, unfortunately, I missed the first day of basketball practice. Last year that was the hardest day of "Hell Week," the first week of conditioning. Coming in as a freshman who had never played team basketball in my life I was extremely nervous, and I was right to be. We ran suicide after suicide, and even though I hadn't been running as hard as I could've been I was tired.

Today I get to go through it all over again. Except this time I'm a sophomore, so I am expected to perform better than I did last year. I am expected to run faster, jump higher, and just in general play harder. Honestly, I am excited, but also fearful. Last year the only thing I had to do was work hard; this year I have to work harder, but that's not the only thing.

Last season I discovered how much more fun a sport is when you actually get to play, and I really want to to have the same rewarding experience I had with volleyball. This adds another element of competition. In order to start, I need to be a better player than the people around me.

All in all, basketball season this year seems more challenging than basketball season last year, but I think I'm up to the challenge.