High school athletes are constantly finding different ways to improve their game, whether it’s through their diet, rigorous training, or receiving expert coaching. For most athletes, watching their sport played at a higher, professional level is something that they also try to incorporate to find new techniques or skills that they can use themselves.
Alongside having to expand their strength and agility through physical training, playing any sport also requires mental tenacity, a skill that must be developed over time and experience. When watching athletes like Novak Djokovic or Tiger Woods, it is evident that, over the course of many years, they have built up a resilient mindset that allows them to remain composed despite obstacles they might face in game. For student athletes, learning from these players’ actions teaches them how to react in stressful circumstances and maintain composure.
Similarly, athletes are able to review professional gameplay and utilize aspects of professional players’ games as their own by adopting their techniques and habits.
“There’s a warm-up routine where [Michael Phelps] bends over forty degrees and slaps his back to warm himself up for races,” said Shawn Elwood ’26.
By analyzing their techniques, athletes like Elwood can form a better understanding of techniques and habits that professionals use to improve their game and play at a higher level. As an example, fencers, after getting down the basics — lunging, parrying, and general movement — must study videos of other, more adept duelists to enhance their skills and techniques. This includes learning how to handle different opponents’ heights, speeds, and techniques in accordance to the type of fencing they pursue (sabre, foil, or epee).
For instance, high school fencers may study professional fencer Romain Cannone’s playstyle, which incorporates unpredictable lunging patterns as well as high-tempo footwork in order to cause distractions and disarray. This erraticness, paired with his unique build, allows Cannone to dominate his opponents out on the strip. Thus, by attempting to incorporate aspects of his playstyle into their own, student-athletes stand to gain the same advantage that provides Cannone a competitive edge in competitions.
Alongside fencing, soccer and American football are two other sports that entail professional influences. This can be attributed to the fact that both sports, as common pastimes, are incredibly structured, requiring teams and individuals to mark out different attacking and defending strategies in response to opposing parties. Thus, when scouting out enemy teams, athletes study professional groups to better understand their positioning on the field, as well as employing “stresstested” approaches against more experienced opponents who are able to counter more rudimentary tactics.
In addition, because these strategies are typically structured around the specific build of an athlete, younger athletes study pros who are similar in these qualities in order to gain effective advantages.
“Michelle [Wie] is very tall,” said varsity girls golf captain Kyuyoung Chung ’26. “She’s six foot. I’m also decently tall, and so, because we have similar body types and similar builds, I’ve looked at her swing a lot and tried to incorporate some of that into my swing.”
On the other hand, professional atheletes can also establish their influence in another way: merchandise. When young athletes see their favorite players wearing and advertising certain brands, such as Michael Jordan and his Nike partnership, they tend to form a positive image of the company, t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e i r emotional attachment with the athlete to the brand as well. Because supporting the company would also, in turn, support their favorite athletes, fans inevitably would want to buy equipment from that corporation more.
Brands from all over the world have continued to partner with high-level athletes, in hopes that these players’ popularity will help boost sales from fans. Since 2021, with a new generation of athletes rapidly gaining traction, top high school athletes have also been securing partnerships with major companies t h r o u g h N a m e , Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, which allow student-athletes to receive some compensation through social media advertising, appearances at events, and promotions. NIL is a way for high school athletes to experience the off-field reality of professional athletes on a smaller scale.
Although some sports have greater influences regarding the impact of professiona l at h letes, teams, and brands, athletes derive inspiration from professionals. Whether someone is playing at the Division 1 level or just starting out in a sport, they are a part of a living chain of effect learning through the example, work ethic, and character of those who came before them. Regardless of an athlete’s sport, professionals will always hold a special place in each athlete’s heart, providing them with aspirations and dreams for their athletic career.