Friday Night Lights. Times you’ll never forget, except this thrill continues through the whole school year with sports like Basketball, Lacrosse, and even Track. Many students don’t recognize the privilege there is to playing sports because one day it will be gone.

Head football coach Tyson Leblanc believes “Athletes should be held to higher standards because they represent a team and must prioritize collective responsibility over individual interests” Leblanc said.

The idea is shared by more than just coaches. Students and athletes themselves often feel the same weight.

Junior athlete Kayden Davis believes“Athletes have targets on their backs more than regular students. If an athlete gets in trouble a teacher can resort to telling a coach although with a regular student there would be less consequences” said  Kayden Davis. 

The recurring message is simple. Once you put on the jersey, your actions reflect the whole team. That is why coaches and many athletes emphasize presenting yourself respectfully both on and off the field.

For example, a regular student who is regularly tardy to class will just be dealt with by their parents, but an athlete will get an athletic punishment based on their sport. Football players tend to do things like bear crawls, up downs, and more for behaviors like this.

Not everyone sees it the same way, though.

“I don’t think athletes get treated differently than other students” Said Sophomore Austin Castro.

Castro said that the idea that athletes always face extra pressure feels overstated and believes that the rules are applied in the same way in the classroom and hallways, regardless of whether someone wears a jersey after school.

“I do not think that our athletes get treated any differently,” Tracy said. “But I do expect our athletes as a part of the standard that we set, to set the example of what it is to be an athlete around here.

Tracy emphasized that participating in sports is an opportunity, not a right.

“We hold our athletes to a little bit of a different standard than maybe a normal student,” he said. We expect them to set the example of what it is to be an OE student, and when we do those things the right way, we can really set the culture of the school.”

That expectation of setting an example is something that athletes feel daily, both in and out of season.

Whether it’s showing up on time, handling consequences, or simply representing the school in the hallway, the message from coaches, administrators, and many athletes themselves remains consistent. Putting on an East jersey comes with responsibility.

For some students, that extra pressure feels unfair. For others, it’s just a part of the privilege to compete. Either way, the standard doesn’t disappear when the season ends. It continued through the whole year, and long after.

Written by junior Makane Tande. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.