Perspective From a Non-Athlete

– Ben Manyard (Defiance, OH)

Being a non-athlete at a campus with so many athletes is a very interesting experience.  Over the years I have observed many athletes throughout my time here and how they act towards the non-athletes like myself. Virtually all of the athletes I have interacted with were all great people and just as friendly as other Yellow Jacket.

Sometimes, athletes may get a bad reputations for being cocky or only worried about their sport. But here at Defiance College, most of the athletes do not have this attitude.  The reason behind this you may ask? They know that they are student-athletes. The term student-athlete is huge for a campus like this because with this college being a smaller program, student-athletes are much less likely to make it to professional level.

The term student-athlete can really affect the way that they play their sport and how much effort they put into the sport. The sport they play can be extremely demanding but they still finish work on time, which is quite admirable in my opinion.

Another thing that I have actually picked up from the student athletes is their time management skills.  Many of them have superior time management skills so they can balance school and their sport.

The next time you run into a student athlete, I challenge you to think to yourself: “they are just like me, they are here for the same purpose as I am.”  Doing this may allow you to make a new friend or gain a new respect for someone else.