Athletes have so much pressure to be on varsity sports and if you’re not, it’s a let down to other people. It gives you a status; if you don’t win, you get judged. It’s a big stage and people know when you mess up and they will be watching. It’s like they expect you to be perfect. People can’t expect that from athletes. Some athletes think they have to be and that’s a lot of pressure. Some coaches are the ones who think they should be perfect. Its not about who plays the hardest, all people care about is who comes up on top at the end of the game.

Sophomore Derek Morrison said, “ It’s about competition. If you don’t win, you’re just this big disappointment. It’s like if you’re not winning you are letting people down, but when you’re winning, everyone’s happier. But it’s not all about winning, it’s about brother-hood. Growing up with them and then going out and fighting with them, knowing they have your back. People off the team think it’s all about winning, but they don’t know what goes on in the locker room.”

Brody Brennan, another sophomore said he feels the same pressure “I feel pressured because you have to get to college somehow and I want to play college sports. You just don’t want to disappoint your team and family, but it’s not a bad pressure. It’s a good pressure,” said Brennan.

Athletes feel the pressure from everyone, not just coaches “I think it can be very pressuring. We live in a small town so the athletes become almost like local celebrities. People come to the games as a form of entertainment. They want the athletes to do well, and also behave in a manner that reflects positively on the school and the town,” said Junior Madison Reiber.

It is no secret the competitiveness is different for boys than girls. They are both competitive, but the need to be competitive is larger for boys. This has to do with some of the pressure. It’s just a bigger deal for boys than girls. Boys are expected to be great athletes or they get judged. It’s a small town and sports are all that some of these kids have.