INTERVIEWS WITH AUSTIN, BRODY, AND HALEY ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES AS ADOLESCENT STUDENT-ATHLETES.

00:00 My name is Alisiana Muscoreil and the topic of my podcast will be about the experiences of student athletes and how those experiences have contributed to their adolescent development. I want to focus on concepts of identity socialization and Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The first concept I want to discuss is a traditional theory of identity development. This is the exploration of one's potential and commitment to a coherent set of values, goals and behaviors that lead to a healthy identity development. The second concept I want to discuss is socialization in a broad spectrum. Socialization refers to the process by which youth are helped to acquire the skills necessary to function competently and successfully as members of their social group or culture. The final concept I want to discuss is Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. Erickson was influenced by Freud's psychoanalytic theory of development. However, Erikson developed a lifespan theory. Erikson's theory is psychosocial because it emphasizes the importance of social and cultural factors across the lifespan of people. These three concepts are related to my topic because in my opinion, I believe that student athletes have the hardest time figuring out who they are, making connections outside of their sport, and are going through many critical periods in their life that can lead them to feel unsure or confused. I was able to interview three friends of mine from high school who were willing to share with me what it was like to be a student athlete and how that affected their lives both positively and negatively regarding their identity, social life and struggles they may have faced. I am with my three friends from high school. Austin, Brody and Haley. Austin, let's start with you. How old are you?

01:47 I am 19 years old.

01:49 Are you in college?

01:50 Yes, I currently go to Hilbert College in Hamburg.

01:54 What is your major?

01:55 Business. I'm a business major there.

01:58 What do you plan to do with that business degree as a career going forward?

02:03 After I get my degree, I want to start doing internships and just getting more experience with real estate.

02:12 Okay. What are some of your favorite memories from your adolescence?

02:16 I'd have to say probably in high school. Just like the bus trips, going to our games and meets and all the different sports I played.

02:24 Okay. What are some of those sports you played in high school?

02:27 I did a lot of sports. So we had. I did volleyball, I did wrestling, I did track. And then along with Unified, I did unified volleyball, unified basketball and unified bowling.

02:37 Can you go into what unified is for people that may not know what that is?

02:41 Yeah. So unified is pretty much just like people that don't have the opportunity to do sports on A regular basis. People that have disabilities such as down syndrome or autism, we give them an opportunity to play with other kids just like them, and it's a good experience for them to play sports, and we help them out. It's just an overall great thing.

03:01 So you would say, what is your favorite sport out of all the sports you played in high school?

03:05 Then I'd have to say the Unified sports. Probably just Unified basketball. Just because I met so many different people throughout that program.

03:12 Do you feel like those connections might connect you to stuff in the future with your business degree, Possibly, like getting back involved with that?

03:18 Oh, for sure. It's something I definitely want to keep in my life. And I still am in contact with people from Unified, whether it's from Cheektowaga High School or just like other schools as well.

03:29 Okay. And then more or less about you. What is a fun fact about you that you wish more people may know?

03:35 Probably a fun fact about me. I like the gym. So I'm there 24, seven, pretty much every day of the week, and I'm there for two to three hours each day.

03:44 Cool. Okay, Brody, let's go to you. How old are you?

03:48 I'm 20.

03:50 Are you currently in college?

03:52 I am not.

03:53 Why did you choose not to pursue college out of high school?

03:56 Out of high school. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. And I had an older brother who went to high school or went to college for three and a half years, never graduated. He went to two different colleges. He doesn't have a degree. Wasted all that money, still paying it. I didn't want to waste that money. I wanted to go out and make money.

04:13 So what have you been doing as a career after high school since you did not pursue college?

04:20 As soon as I graduated, I got into the blue collar work. I started as a landscaper, and then from there I moved into construction, and I've been doing construction since 17.

04:29 Okay, and in high school, what sports did you play?

04:33 I played football. I wrestled and I threw in track, indoor and outdoor, and I swam my senior year.

04:41 What would you say is your favorite sport that you played out of your high school Football?

04:45 By far.

04:47 Okay, did. What are some of your favorite memories from your adolescence and maybe in your football career as a whole?

04:54 It would be the times in between school and practices and school and game when we had that free time where we got to do whatever we wanted and just went out and acted like idiots. Had a good time.

05:07 Did you make any connections with friends that maybe, like, you still talk to to this day, just because of those sports. Like, what was your social connection from those sports to every.

05:16 Every last one of my closest friends are because of football. My best friend was the quarterback. I was the center. So we worked a lot together and it really gave us a bond that. Like brothers.

05:28 And what is a fun fact about you that you wish most people knew about?

05:33 It'd be a lot easier if a lot of people know that I was colorblind because everyone. Oh, that you know, that color over there. And I'm like, well, I can't really see it.

05:42 Okay, let's go over to Haley. Haley, how old are you?

05:47 I am also 20 years old.

05:49 Are you in college?

05:51 I am, yes. I go to D'Volville University.

05:54 What are you currently majoring in?

05:56 I am in their pharmacy program right now.

06:00 Okay, so as a career, you'll be a pharmacist, correct?

06:03 That is the plan, yes.

06:05 Do you want to do more or less a pharmacist in like a hospital setting, a clinic setting? What is your thoughts for that?

06:12 So I currently work as a pharmacy technician in a retail pharmacy, which what actually made me decide that I like the whole pharmacy thing, which made me want to pursue pharmacy school, but the retail setting. Working there made me realize that's not for me. Like, I would definitely be more interested in looking into a hospital setting or whatever there is to offer within the pharmacy program. I'm going to be going on rotations to other places in different settings, so I'll be able to explore that through the program.

06:48 How did you get into pharmacy? Like, what kind of sparked your interest for that other than like working in a retail. How did you like, get to that point? I guess.

06:58 Well, so out of high school, I didn't really know exactly what I wanted to do. I changed my major from a P. A pre PA major, but I kind of went with that just because I was like, I don't really know, but I'll give this a try. But then I ended up getting that job at the pharmacy and I liked learning about all the medications and the interactions, and there's just so many things to learn, and I like that.

07:28 Okay, so you kind of kept that pre med focus just in a different way?

07:32 Yeah, I always knew that I wanted to go into the medical field of some sort.

07:38 And in high school, what sports did.

07:40 You play in high school? I swam all throughout high school. I dabbled in many different sports during my younger years, but high school was strictly swimming every single year.

07:56 So obviously, because it's something you thoroughly focused on it was most definitely your favorite.

08:01 Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

08:02 And what is a fun fact about you that you wish most people knew about? That's.

08:10 I don't know. I guess I currently have braces for my second time in my life because I never wore my retainer. I don't know.

08:18 And from swimming, is there any memories that really have stuck with you, either from swimming and being in the life of a student athlete or, like, what are your. What's some of your favorite memories? Just from like your adolescence period? Like going throughout high school.

08:32 Throughout high school, team bonding was definitely my favorite and it was always fun. I remember, like, in the younger years of high school being on the swim team. All the way up until my senior year, we always did some sort of team bonding outside of swim practice and outside of school. Like, I remember one year we went to one of the girls houses and we played Twister with shaving cream and it was just super messy and it was super fun and it's just like little team bonding. Things like that are always good memories to look back on.

09:09 Cool. Thank you guys for sharing that stuff so far. So, Austin, back to you. Knowing that volleyball was your favorite sport in high school and is what you identified when you said, like, you were a student athlete. How do you feel like being a volleyball player related to you, like, who you are as a person today? Like, how did it shape your identity?

09:32 That is a good question. I mean, I played volleyball since I was so young, so just learning more about it and always getting better. You know, not being cocky and arrogant, just having an open mindset throughout my whole career is the most important because you always want to become better. And, you know, you need to keep improving. Like, no one's ever going to be the best in the world. You have to. You gotta start from somewhere and you gotta build up to that point.

09:54 If you did not have volleyball say, you never pursued it. Do you still feel like you'd be in the same mindset and place in your, like, college career and like, in your adolescence? Do you feel like you would have met the same people and had the same social life?

10:11 No, definitely not. You know, I made a lot of friends again, whether it was at Cheektowaga or other schools. You know, I'm still lifelong friends with so many people. And me playing college volleyball, if I didn't have that in high school, I wouldn't be where I am today. It's definitely shaped me in more ways than not.

10:27 So you feel like your social network has been positively affected by playing volleyball and being a Student athlete?

10:35 Yeah, for sure. I mean, I meet people with all different mindsets, especially in volleyball. You know, there's people that love the sport, hate the sport. You know, good, bad, all in between. It's just realizing to help people and bring people up, and you can always learn so much from other people instead of just yourself.

10:54 Absolutely. And then when, like, you are a student athlete, that's a lot of stress. Like, you're playing your sport, you're trying to finish all your work, like, you're applying to colleges. As an adolescent, like, did you ever go through a period of, like, mental blocks or struggles that you were, like, contemplating, like, whether or not you could get through it? And, like, did that ever, like, occur to you and, like, happen to you where you're like, I don't know, like, something's going on. You don't really know much about, like, why it's happening?

11:20 Yeah, it's definitely happened to me more than. More times than not. You know, there's been times where, you know, I was thinking about quitting that sport. You know, I've been struggling so much in school sometimes, and it's hard to manage doing a sport. You know, family and school on top of that. So just being disciplined and knowing when there's time to focus on your sport and time to focus on study is probably the most important thing. And you gotta include your social life and all these other aspects, so you definitely gotta be disciplined and have a good mindset for that, for sure.

11:51 Do you think those struggles were caused by volleyball, or do you feel like volleyball was an outlet for those mental struggles you were going through?

12:00 Definitely. Volleyball was an outlet. You know, when you were stressed and you had backed up on some assignments and stuff, you know, it was nice to just go out and play volleyball and just clear your mind, because after that, you know, you can go home and just focus on your studies and get stuff done. But volleyball definitely helped with all that.

12:18 Absolutely. Brody, on to you. How do you feel like, you know, you played football in high school and that was your favorite thing you played. How do you feel like playing football relates to, like, who you are as a person today? Like, yes, you might not have gone to college. Yeah. I don't know. Are you planning on pursuing college in the future?

12:36 Yeah, I think I'm gonna go here. I think next year I'm gonna look to applying and go to Alfred State is the plan.

12:44 So, sidetrack. Sorry, back to the original question. How do you feel like football relates to your identity and who you are as a person?

12:52 Today, football really gave me the work ethic that you need in construction. I played on the line, so it was, it was a very physical. Every down was very physical. For me, it was constant contact, constant. You had to be bigger, faster, stronger than the guy in front of you so the guys behind you could succeed. So, you know, it wasn't always work on the field that that helped me. It was work in the weight room years before I started playing football and work on my hand, work my footwork really, to succeed on the field. And it gives me, you know, I now work in construction. You know, I have to do the same thing. It's not always what I'm doing at the job, you know, it's. It's things that I have to go home and think about, okay, this is what I have to do tomorrow and this is how I'm going to do it, you know, to make sure everything's safe, nobody gets hurt, and everything gets done right. And it's hard work, you know, construction. So it. I feel like without football, I wouldn't have the durability to succeed in construction.

13:52 Absolutely. Now with all that, sounds like there could be a lot of both physical and mental struggles. I mean, being alignment does not sound easy physically or mentally. So how do you feel? Like, did you ever go through a period of mental blocks or mental struggles or maybe even physical struggles where like, you felt like you couldn't progress anymore?

14:11 Oh, most definitely. You know, it was, it was. There were some times that, you know, I wasn't getting. I wasn't necessarily the best student. You know, there were times that I wasn't getting work done because I was more focused on, you know, working out and practicing, and I would just be dead tired. So, you know, it just wasn't. I just won't go home and do my homework. I'll go home, go to sleep, you know. And it. Football definitely was, in the matter of my schoolwork, both a help and a hindrance. You know, if I wasn't playing football, I would have the time to do it, but without football, all as I would be doing was schoolwork. So it was cool to have the break of football. So it wasn't all schoolwork, but if I didn't play football, I would have had the time to do the schoolwork. So really it was a good and an evil, but I'm glad I did it.

15:01 So would you say that football maybe caused some of the struggles you were going through of not being able to do your schoolwork, or would you say more or less like you're glad you did football because it was an outlet for you and, like, what side would you take? Like, would you go back and, like, maybe not play football to maybe try to get better grades? Like, which one, I guess, was more important to you?

15:21 Oh, football was by far more of an outlet and a help than it was a hindrance. It definitely caused me to have the less time, but I wouldn't go back and change my football. The only thing I would change about my football career is I would have started earlier. I would have played more football.

15:38 When did you start playing football?

15:40 Only my sophomore year in high school.

15:43 So do you feel like, how did this affect your social life and network? I mean, I know you said you've had long life or long connections with, like, long term connections with your friends from football. So would you say football obviously was a positive effect of being a student athlete?

16:00 Oh, 100%. You know, I wouldn't have the friends that I have nowadays without them. You know, I got a buddy who's proposing in a few weeks, and he asked me to be his best man, and we're that close because of football. And, you know, I got buddies that would do anything for me and I'd do anything for them, and I wouldn't have met them without football. Great.

16:20 Haley, on to you. Last one. So you swam in high school? You did that all four years?

16:27 All four years. And I did it in middle school as well.

16:30 Cool. Did you? I'm not familiar with swimming. Is there, like, sectionals? Like, how far did you go in that career?

16:37 There is sectionals, and then after sectionals, there's state. The furthest I went was sectionals. Yes.

16:43 Cool. And how do you feel like swimming affected who you are as a person today? Like, your identity with the sport? And being a student athlete, how do you feel like that's affected and shaped you?

16:54 So being a student athlete, definitely, as mentioned before, it's stressful. It's very. Time management is very important because you have schoolwork. A lot of student athletes work as well outside of school, and then you have practices and all that. So I think being a student athlete has definitely helped time management. Time management was always so important, and that's definitely something that I learned from being a student athlete. And I've carried on to my life now outside of high school.

17:31 Absolutely. Now, I'm not familiar with the sport of swimming, but I assume that there's, you know, like, some struggles you have to go through either in the water or, like, mentally outside of it. Like, I know you have to make time. So did you ever feel like you struggled or, like, had a period of mental blocks where, like, you were either, like, in the mindset, like, oh, maybe I can't do this, or like, were you ever struggling to, like, get a certain time or anything like that?

17:56 Yeah, definitely. I wouldn't say mental blocks, per se. When I think mental blocks, I think, like, like a writer's block or something. But definitely, like, there were times in practice where it's like swimming. It's like at practice, you get yelled at for breathing. You know, like, you. You take too many breaths and you're getting yelled at. So it was definitely very hard mentally and physically. I mean, your face is in the water and you just want to breathe, and you get up for a few breaths, and then you just got to go back down, and so it's definitely tough.

18:33 Do you feel like swimming? Like, I don't know if you've personally had any struggles outside of swimming, but if you did have those, do you feel like swimming helped those struggles or just kind of made it worse? Because obviously, I mean, you're getting yelled at for breathing. I mean, nobody really wants to endure that, I guess.

18:52 I don't know. I mean, I think looking back at my life, I mean, now I'm not swimming. I don't do any sports. I mean, I just work out in my free time. But looking back, I think the time while I was swimming was definitely more positive. Like, socially, I had more friends, I hung out more. I was more social than I am now. And I do wish that I continued to carry on being a student athlete because through that, like the boys have been saying, you get so many connections and lifelong friends out of it.

19:36 So would you say, like, not being a student athlete anymore has, like, almost negatively affected your social life and, like, your social network with people?

19:45 Yeah, I would say that, yes. So I definitely wish I would have kept it going.

19:52 Well, maybe it's never too late. Can always try in college.

19:58 Yeah. I always thought, because I didn't pursue it because I wanted to focus on the studies, but then doing it, I realized, you know, the time management was always, like I said, so important, and I always managed to get it all done anyways, so I think it would have been a win win if I was able to do the studies and the athletics in college.

20:22 How about your academics in college? I mean, not being a student athlete, have they gotten better? Because, like, it's not as much time being a student athlete, or do you feel like they've almost stayed the same?

20:32 No, They've really stayed the same. I mean, there's more time now that I'm not having practices and stuff to study and focus on the schoolwork, but my grades are still about the same. I think the only difference is I may be a little bit less stressed now because I have more time to do the schoolwork, but for sure.

20:57 Okay, well, thank you, all three of you. After interviewing Austin, Brody, and Haley, my friends from high school, I was really interested in the insight I gained from that. Like, hearing other student athletes say the things that positively and negatively affected them and how they wish they would have changed. It really opened my eyes into, like, my own personal experience that I went through in high school and in my adolescence. But I'm glad I was able to see how Austin and Brody had more positive effects on, like, their social time with their sports and how that kind of affected their whole social life as a whole. And then with Haley, I was able to find out that it kind of negatively impacted her, which is unfortunate to hear. But hearing that, how the little things for Haley, like, really shaped her memories and stuff like that, and how for Austin, hearing all the things that he remembered that almost have nothing to do with their sport or school, like, it's those connections that they seem to make within their sport really stuck to them more outside of playing their sport than actually in their sport. Like Brody, for example, whose friend is getting married and he's being the best man. I mean, that's something he might not have gotten to be a part of if he was not in football with his friend. And so I think it's very interesting to see how, like, from three different sports and from three different people, how your social life and your identity can be completely changed and, like, skewed or, like, just thought about so differently and like, it's crazy to think your life could be so different if you played a different sport or if you hung out other with different people. So it was really interesting to see that and to see how, like, when you ask them, like, did you go through mental blocks or mental struggles? They're like, yeah. And like, to hear that their sport was an outlet for that is really reassuring because it was also an outlet for me. So it makes me realize now that most athletes, majority, at least, have to use their sport as an outlet. And that's really exciting to see because that's also how I felt on my sport. So I gained some good insight into what these student athletes had to say, and it was really great to talk with them. So thank you for listening. To my podcast. And again, my name is Alisiana Mascarel.