Competition consumes the lives of many outside of the classroom walls.
By Clare Driscoll '19 and Molly Mitchell '20
Isabel Ali, symphonic choir member. Cat Fernandez, marching band member and water polo player. Jamie Stummer, lacrosse and soccer player. Linus Fraley, Abby Taggart, Jane* and Clare Baryluk, marching band members. Sammy Sass, basketball, football and baseball player. Abhik Mazumder, symphony orchestra member. Alex Criss, basketball and soccer player. From student athletes to student musicians, one thing connects them all: competition.
WHY THE COMPETITION?
Junior band member Jane has lived in Upper Arlington for the majority of her life. According to her, this community is a breeding ground for competitive spirits.
“Upper Arlington is full of people who want to prove that they are the best. That’s why every part of life here seems so high stakes because everyone wants to be seen by the others as the best,” Jane said.
Her view is shared by junior Cat Fernandez, a mellophone player. She said one of the reasons for the competitive atmosphere in marching band stems from freshmen Competition consumes the lives of many outside of the classroom walls. and sophomores undermining upperclassmen.
“Sometimes underclassmen who are pretty good at marching and playing try to prove that they’re fit for leadership,” Fernandez said. “It makes things harder on the people actually in charge because [underclassmen] think that they don’t have to listen to you. It makes the rest of the section be more competitive because as soon as one feels like they have something to prove, so do the rest.”
Mazumder sees the same trends within the orchestra program. “The program itself doesn’t foster competition very much,” Mazumder said. “But I think that there are a lot of kids who have really strong egos, and even if they don’t actually care about how they’re playing, they do care about the seating and how they’re viewed by other people in the orchestra.”
Though being a student athlete requires significant time commitment outside of school, junior Alex Criss, a basketball and softball player, says it is her teammates that motivate her to show up to practice everyday.
“People who I wouldn’t have met through basketball are now some of my best friends and the reason I love playing,” Criss said. Fernandez, who also plays for the girls’ water polo team, said in sports those friendships can often be the source of drama.
“We spend so much of our day together that if there is [drama], it needs to be fixed because it’s going to be miserable for the next few months,” Fernandez said.
Friendships can also lead to jealousy and more stress, and senior Isabel Ali admits the vocal music program can foster an exclusive attitude.
“It becomes very cliquey,” Ali said, “Some people think that if you don’t get into the inner friend group, you didn’t succeed or you didn’t make it because many of them are the ones getting the leads and solos. I feel like that’s what everyone is striving to be—a part of that friend group.”
Often, friendships may be strained in pursuit for a solo or front and center spot in a formation.
“People definitely turn their backs on each other just to get what they want,” Ali said.
KEEPING IT FUN
Extracurriculars are not meant to be stressful, but often the level of competition makes them another activity to worry about, according to Ali. She said auditions for the winter musical create a tense environment for students that may even keep them from trying out.
“Everybody hates [musical auditions],” Ali said. “I think there are so many people in our school that could easily be a part of our program but are too scared to because of the competitiveness it brings out in people.”
Ali said she almost didn’t try out for last year’s musical Anything Goes, even though Ali has been involved with the choral program at UA since sixth grade.
“I’m glad that I did, but I felt like I hurt a lot of people "
COACHES SAY
Sass said he felt coaches and directors sometimes use competition as a way to motivate students.
“The coaches are always trying to get the best out of people. They really like to rile us up, and for most kids that’s just taken as an energy boost. Some take it as a chance to compete with others,”
Sass said. For band director Todd Fessler, competition is a constructive way for students to improve their own skills. He said he sees competition as a catalyst to encourage personal growth.
“I think [the competition] makes it more fun because it gives you something to work toward,” Fessler said. “Especially with a team like what we are [at the band], it gives you a sense of pride when competing with each other to want to be better.”
Senior soccer and lacrosse player Jamie Stummer, said her coaches also often use competition as a motivating force. “I think that coaches initiate competition in some ways [like] during 1v1 drills against each other during tryouts,” Stummer said “The fact that you really have to fight for starting positions and playing time can get a little competitive.”
Jane also said the competition within the band program is strong enough that she requested to remain anonymous.
“I feel like if other people knew I had these feelings, they would think less of me, which is just buying into all of the competitiveness,” Jane said.
GETTING BETTER
While the constant fight to be the best in extracurricular activities look bleak for some students, there are others like Ali that have seen changes in their program.
“I think in the past, there has been a lot of competition because people thought that if you got into ensemble, then you were set up for everything else in that program including the musical,” Ali said. “So if you didn’t make it into ensemble, you basically failed at everything from then on out. With our new director, things have definitely been changing.”
Mazumder said for those losing enjoyment in their activity due to high competition and stress, it may be time to look for a different one. “If you want to avoid that kind of mentality, you have to look in the right places because there are definitely people who are not judgmental,”
Mazumder said. Jane said at the end of the day, these activities are meant to add to the high school experience, not take away from it. "Beyond all the competition, that’s what it’s supposed to be about,” Jane said. “I believe that it can be very hard to enjoy it when you lose that perspective and get all caught up in the fight to be the best.”