Is There a Divide Between Athletes and Nonathletes?

Social circles are often formed by the people who are around you. It is human nature to connect with the people who spend time with you as well as those who participate in activities you enjoy. We tend to get to know these people better and are more likely to become closer friends. People are often friends with others who have similar interests or share common activities. Athletics, for instance, represent a popular way to build social circles. Through athletics, one not only shares a common interest and commitment but also creates a world in which you need to be a “member” in order to be included. Bourdieu (1986) explained the idea of social capital as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintances and recognition” (Bourdieu, 251). Athletics facilitate the growth of one’s social capital through group membership, relationships, and networks of support. 

At Everdeen, it became apparent that some students were very passionate about playing sports, while others participated to fulfill a requirement. The students who are most passionate about a sport often achieve higher levels in their sport, which may indicate that they spend a lot of time practicing and playing with their teammates. One student explains how Everdeen offers multiple levels for sports. This creates a wide variety of athletic endeavors for people to choose how seriously they want to play. People who were not as passionate about athletics fulfilled their requirements by engaging in sports such as table tennis which do not always require the same level of athleticism (though for some it can). It may also mean they were not putting in the same work, time, and effort into athletics as others. Students who did not spend hours of their week practicing their sport, may not have built a social circle based around that activity. 

One student at Everdeen, who is on the crew team, explains that she is primarily friends with her teammates. Although she did not intend this, because athletics play such a pivotal role in her life and she dedicates hours each week to practice, she finds herself spending a majority of her time with her crew teammates. When you do not spend a lot of time with other classmates who do not participate in the same sport as you, it is more difficult to build strong relationships. If the rower had the opportunity to spend time with more people outside of her team or put an equal effort into an additional activity, she may have opened up other opportunities to develop stronger relationships with other classmates as well. 

I have noticed a very similar atmosphere at Colby between athletes and non-athletes. During my first year at Colby, I found it very difficult to build the same strong relationships that people on sports teams seemed to form so quickly. The athletes at Colby were quickly introduced to other people with whom they had the chance to spend hours on end together. I can remember seeing teams walking together across campus, eating meals together, or even going to social events together. At first, I was discouraged because I didn’t know if I would form the same friendships that the athletes had formed since they were already spending hours each week together. 

An outsider looking at Colby may observe a large divide between the athletes and non-athletes. This would seem to prove Bourdieu’s idea that social capital grows from established networks and connections. I think this athlete and non-athlete divide stems not from the two different groups not wanting to be friends, but because they don’t spend the same amount of time with the other group. If they were put in a situation where they were compelled to spend time with individuals outside of their team, they might develop new friendships. This matches my experience. As my freshman year went on and I got to know my roommate (an athlete) and her friends (who were athletes), they became my closest friends at the school. The divide that I thought was so prevalent, and potentially divisive, quickly became bridged. As the Everdeen student says, she didn’t think there was a divide; it just happened to be that athletes spent a majority of their time with their teammates. I think that my roommate and friends dedicated the same level of time and effort into their sport as to forming a larger social circle, outside of their team. While I am not on their team, I have realized that it is possible to break the barrier of friendships with athletes and that I can support them from the sidelines. 

References

Both images are take from imessages #images 

Bourdieu, P. (1986). THE FORMS OF CAPITAL. 15.