No matter what happens the rest of the spring, the Adrian Area softball team has already accomplished one of its primary goals for the 2005 season — the players are having fun.As expected, the first-year program is struggling when it comes to winning games. But, according to AA coach Jason Langland, the girls are enjoying themselves during what has been an 0-8 varsity campaign through last weekend’s tournament in Okabena."There’s something about baseball and softball that is different than other sports," Langland said. "The kids just like going on the field and playing the game. Everyone still is having fun playing softball right now."In my mind, that’s what high school athletics is all about.Sure, it’s nice to be successful. But you can’t judge the experience of participating in extra curricular activities by a team’s win and loss record. As long as the kids are working hard and having fun in the process, they will acquire some positive memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.The AA softball team is a perfect example of what is good about high school athletes. Although the Dragons have yet to record a win, the players are committed to the cause of improving as players."We never looked at it like it would be an unsuccessful season if we didn’t get a win. We went into it with the attitude that we wanted to score some runs and be competitive in some games, and we wanted to make it fun for the girls," Langland said.Although the squad is winless, AA is making progress as a team.The Dragons sported their first lead in program history during a 14-3 road loss in Edgerton May 9.During Saturday’s tournament in Okabena, the Dragons forced two of the three teams it faced to play seven-inning games. More important to the coach was the fact that AA scored 10 and 12 runs in two of the contests."At the beginning of the year, I didn’t think we would score 10 runs in any game," Langland said. "Then we scored 10 or more runs in two games this weekend. Now that the girls are getting more at bats, and they’ve been exposed to more game situations, you can tell they are gaining confidence."AA will continue to use baby steps as a way to measure its successes as a program, but before long, the Dragons will be up and walking with the other area softball programs."I think the program will take off and grow," Langland said."We started with a bunch of girls with no softball experience, and they all have come a long way as players since the beginning of the year. I’m pretty optimistic about our junior varsity and junior high teams because they have some pretty good ball players. In a couple of years, we’re going to be very competitive."