From experience, I have always found that to the average person, athletes are seen as robots. Afterall, robots only know how to do a couple things and do not care about anything other than their main interests. This may appear like the perfect analogy to some people because; it may seem that athletes just go to school to play sports and keep their headphones in all day because they do not really care about their friends or what teachers have to say. To my understanding, it may be intimidating to see a 300+ pound offensive lineman walk down the hallway and it might not seem like a huge football player would worry about much other than football and trying to be bigger and stronger. This particular type of thinking, however, is simply not accurate.

The star athlete might know what to do on the field, but may not be at the top of the class when it comes to their studies. Yet, it seems like a lot of the top athletes in the school are also some of the most involved and dedicated in the classroom as well. It is not easy to be well-rounded, yet I believe it is more common that talent is a result of hard work, whether it is in school or on the playing surface. The “dumb jock” in my opinion is really just a generalization because there are plenty of people that do not do well in school, but are not labeled because they are not a part of sports or something else incredibly visible to the school. Several people that I have come in contact with think that there is a time for sports and a time for school. This means that it may be fun to be with friends and do something enjoyable, but when it is time to do homework and study, nothing else is important.

Apart from intelligence, personality on and off the field can be immensely different. For me, I have always been calm in every-day life and I think this translates to how I am while playing a sport. Although I would say that it is important to communicate during practices and games, which would cause me to be more talkative, I usually aim to stay calm regardless of the circumstances. Not everyone is like me though because I know of several athletes who are very vocal and outgoing during a sport and may even take pride in yelling so that everyone around them hears. This may be the same kid that gently smiles to say “hi” in the hallway and is cool and collected during school. On the flip-side, the kid that never stops talking in school could have the on-off switch that allows them to lock in and not let any distractions affect the task at hand.

To this particular athlete, the best way to focus is to stay silent and let the game happen.