Editor’s Note: Trina Book has played four seasons of collegiate volleyball — two at Long Island University and then two at Sac State.

I learned to accept being called a tomboy, deal with sexist hecklers and live out of a gym bag for a week. I learned how to get along with 15 girls for a whole season, go weeks at a time without a break from volleyball and depend on new best friends. Somehow, I did all of this and still had the best experience of my life.

This is my life as a female athlete.

A female athlete isn’t your average girl. She is a person who is passionate about being an athlete, yet still retains her feminine qualities. But when you live, eat and breathe your sport, this can often be a difficult task. Every aspect of your life seems to revolve around being an athlete.

It’s true, many of us are known as tomboys; I’ve been called a tomboy more times in my life then I can remember. The truth is many of us think it is a compliment to be known as “one of the guys” when it comes to sports.

We may be seen by some as tomboys, but being women we can put our own spin on athletics. Yes, some of us wear makeup and ribbons in our hair when we play. All we can say is, “it’s a girl thing.”

Yeah, dealing with girls can be complicated.

Getting along with so many different personalities can be almost impossible sometimes.

Yes, we have personality clashes, because your teammates become like your sisters and sometimes having that many sisters can become a choir.

Girls just seem to take things personally.

And after conquering all the “girl” issues, we also have to put up with harassment from the fans. We get heckled just like the guys do, except we probably get it worse, because most hecklers are guys and they love to give girls a hard time.

Some comments are made about the way we are playing; however, most of the comments that echo across the gym are sexual, usually referring to a player’s appearance.

For instance, during the Big Sky Championships last year at Eastern Washington University, the hecklers were out in full force.The Eagles packed their gym with more than 2,000 people and the front rows of the arena were filled with obnoxious guys who stood up the whole game and harassed everyone on our side of the court.

Players were heckled about their spandex shorts, hairy armpits, bad hairstyles and weight.

But in turn, putting up with verbal abuse as a volleyball player makes you an exceptionally strong person in what isn’t exactly a leisurely activity.

We are incredibly competitive and all we want to do is win. We strive for perfection and our coaches expect it. We get yelled at, worked to the brink and punished.

We walk out of the gym with crazy bruises. Many of us play matches with broken bones, aching knees, torn ligaments, pulled abs and tweaked backs — all out of love for the game.

From my experience as a volleyball player and as a female athlete, I assure you that losing and not working hard aren’t options. It’s been insane at times, but the experiences of being a female athlete will always live with me.