There’s nothing like a surge of warm weather to get people’s spirits up. When it first becomes nice out, Ames has a sense of energy running through it like none other.

People emerge from their homes to enjoy the weather. Walking, biking, rollerblading, laying out, you name it. Spring is the time of year that people get in better moods and it’s a time for becoming a little more athletic.

Many use the nice weather to get back into the sports they like. I like to call them summer sports. They are the sports that you play all spring and summer with friends or family and then you just forget about them when it gets cold.

Probably the saddest thing is that the only reason we have summer sports is because we live in Iowa, where our window for doing things – like playing golf – is only a few months long.

I have nothing better to do with my time so my mind was racing about summer sports, and I remembered a few that could very well be fun. If you’re looking for something new to spice up your spring and summer, here you go.

Think back to when you were younger. Now go back even further. I’m thinking of something with one bouncy ball and some painted squares on the ground.

That’s right – four-square.

Think about how much fun that damn game was. You join the squares and your goal is to get to the server square, where you can make up your own rules and add things like the cherry bomb and bus stops.

If you were really good at four-square in elementary school, there was a good chance you were the most popular kid in school – at least when the weather was nice enough for it.

I was never the best, therefore, I wasn’t the most popular, believe it or not. But my specialty in four-square was the power game. I enjoyed picking on the younger kids and slamming the ball into their square as hard as I could.

Another sport out of that same area of our lives that can be a fun summer sport is tetherball. It’s amazing how much action can come from a ball hanging from a pole.

This was more for girls when I was young, but I’ve gotten my share of games in over the years. I never could get the rules down, so I am always grabbing the rope.

I guess I just loved the power game in tetherball as well. Hitting the ball as hard as possible, trying to hit my opponent in the head. I don’t think I have a future in this sport.

Kickball was another fun summer sport. It is just like baseball but with a ball that you kick. My favorite part of kickball: Whipping the ball at the runner to get them out and hopefully leaving a red mark on their face.

It’s always fun to jump in a nice pool when it’s hot out, and what better summer sport is there than water basketball? This is fun because there is no skill required whatsoever.

The hoops are low so the jump shot gets blocked 99 percent of the time. The appeal to this game is power dunks.

This game also has a lot more elbows thrown than regular basketball, so there is a good chance for fights and blood – an obvious plus side.

Water fights probably aren’t considered sports, but in the summer they can be some of the more fun days you talk about.

You start with water guns and balloons, but eventually you’re filling up buckets and tossing them on your closest friends.

And if your gun or bucket runs out of water in the middle of a battle, just throw the weapon at your opponent and hope for a solid hit.

The absolute best summer sport to play is golf. It’s the most peaceful and relaxing of sports, and it’s nice because you are playing against yourself.

For the more serious golfer, summer is a time of playing your friends (or in my case, my dad) for money and playing to find your PAL (perfect alcohol limit).

But if you think you suck at golf or you can’t afford to play, go to a driving range with some friends.

You can do long-drive contests or demonstrate your “Happy Gilmore” swing.

It’s hard to find true violence in golf; I’ve hit people with golf balls before but that was by accident – I swear.

But if you do go to a driving range, try and hit the guy picking up balls in the cart – they have cages around them and they like it. I know because that is one of my former jobs.

Hopefully there were some ideas here to help your spring and summer become more enjoyable, and maybe even a little more violent.

Kyle Moss is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He can beat you at golf.