My basketball coach, Mr. Jeff Gourley, always pleads to us players the importance of the word “student” in “student-athlete”. As every high school coach should, his expectations for us in the class are similar to his expectations of us on the court. He demands effort, punctuality and communication - 3 traits that are critical in all aspects of life. “We aren’t solving the cure for cancer,  we’re just putting the ball in the hoop” is one of the many lines I’ve been learning since I began coming to his camps in grade 6.

I strongly agree that the importance of school should never be overlooked by athletes, or anyone else in high school (even though I know I’ve learned more on the court and field than in a classroom). The lessons, mistakes, experiences and memories I’ve made playing sports are unparalleled by anything else I’ve ever done. For myself, these experiences have been (mostly) positive, but recently I’ve noticed how that may be different for other people.

High school culture is very, very interesting. The inevitable formation of groups and cliques can be detrimental to students. All the bullshit that students in younger grades perceive to be of utmost importance and the classic 2-week long relationships that people get in to just to gain instagram followers from their “significant other”. The topics to talk about are endless. But what might be most important of these is how different groups of student view other students, and this is what I’ve been thinking about most as of late.

The term “clique” is a term that I have always detested. It insinuates a detachment from others because of perceived thoughts that one is “too good” for some peers. It’s a term that I’ve always attempted to distance myself from, and whenever I hear it my face cringes and a tingly feeling comes through my lower back.

Being a member of the boys basketball team throughout the years has taught me about cliques. There is a thought throughout high school that basketball players put themselves on a pedestal and that they walk through the hallways like they own place. This is an idea that is shot down by Coach Gourley the minute a player is selected to make any of the boys teams. “Don’t walk around the school acting like your poop doesn’t stink” is a term he’s been using for years to bring players back down to earth when their confidence starts forming in  to cockiness.

As I previously noted, the idea of how different people in high school are looked at is a very interesting one. Take myself for example. I am a starter on the Senior Boys basketball team. From what I’ve learned from my own experiences is that younger players are meant to look up to the older players as role models. I knew that when I was in grade 8, I wanted to be just like them when I was in grade 12. So the idea that there are dozens of basketball players in younger grades that look to me as a role model is something I take very seriously and always try to do a good job. However, other people view me in a very different way.

There are people who believe that I wear the stuck-up stereotype with pride and who think I am a cocky person, when in fact the opposite is the truth. The stereotype looms above my head like a rainy cloud that never seems to go away. That is why I will get the occasional snarky, passive aggressive comment from a peer. Although these are rare, they still do happen, and I hate it when they do. Now, the hate is not directed at the person who made the comment, but rather at the high school culture that attempts to dictate my life for being nothing more than a basketball player. It pains me to think that I haven’t done enough to break the stereotype and that people still view me in this light.

Adding to this, I have begin to think about how different my life would be if I didn’t play basketball. If I was just a student in the mini with a 92% average, the Student Council Vice-President and a member of other clubs, what group would the high school sorting hat place me in? How vastly different would my experiences be?

Although I speak of some negatives surrounding my position, I am not trying to complain about my position nor trying to complain about any of my other peers. I am very happy with how my high school life went, and wouldn’t change anything about it. The lessons I’ve learned in high school will most definitely affect me in the rest of my life.

I also understand that these ideas come from me, and my ideas could be very different than those in another position. These thoughts come from my point of view, which is in no way the “correct” or “right” one, they are simply my opinions and what is going on in my mind. Acknowledging this is something I think is important because I do not want to come across as cocky or stuck-up.

As I end this piece of writing, I think about how I can further affect positive change on the situation. For me personally, I think I should continue to inform people that I am more than just a basketball player. Myself, nor anyone else, should ever be put in a position where they are cookie-cut to do or be just one thing. I am multifaceted and need to continue to break through stereotypes. For future people in my position, I must continue to perpetuate the importance of not acting like a stuck up asshole in high school because that will just get you nowhere.