Students and athletes constantly feel the pressures of academics and athletics. From the feeling of failure to success, and everything in between, students constantly find themselves in positions under pressure. In a similar way, parents, teachers, coaches, or teammates pressuring students can impact the life of a student or athlete in a variety of ways. Mental health is a primary factor that is influenced by the pressures of day-to-day life in athletics, academics, and social life. Each student is impacted in their own way and depending on their situation, their lives are changed in a variety of ways. For example, student-athlete Wyatt Ahlbrand, sophomore varsity basketball phenom, explained how he feels the weight of success every day, through the high expectations placed on him by coaches and teammates. Balancing not only the pressure from athletics but also the pressures of academics combine for a very difficult workload and schedule. “I love the game, but it can be a lot when juggling academics and social life,” Wyatt explains when asked about the lifestyle of being a student-athlete, going on to explain again how being now in his second year of high school and really flourishing in his role on the team and in the classroom, that the experience of another year has really helped himself develop on and off the court. When comparing academic and athletic pressure, Wyatt talked about how he personally feels more pressure on the court, yet he believes that most students would not feel the same way. The passion that he has for the game is “unmatched” and most other student-athletes probably don’t feel that same pressure on the court as a result. However, even with this in mind, the pressure in the classroom is never overlooked, and stated how he has so much respect for those who feel more pressure because of academics. The weight of constant tests, quizzes, and even the smaller assignments that take up our time in and outside of the classroom is a difficult weight to carry for a large majority of students, many of whom can not handle such pressures. He lastly explains how he thinks that being an athlete is the perfect preparation for adult and college life and how the balancing of workloads and pressure from academic and extracurricular activities impacts the responsibility of teenagers and young adults.
