Pressure to Perform: BrettÃ**s Negotiations of Male Friendships, Body Image and Dating Relationships

Abstract

“Man, I’m dreading practice today—I’m still worn out from yesterday.” “Well, let’s plan on going out afterward. We could definitely use the break, and it’ll be great to just be able to chill . . . ” Brett sat toward the front of the classroom listening to the conversation behind him. “That used to be me,” he thought. When he came to college, he made the reflective decision to not play baseball anymore, even though he had been heavily recruited by the university’s coaching staff. He still loved the game, but he knew he would not play baseball professionally after college, and, to be honest, he had gotten tired of the “jock” label that loomed over his head in high school. Also, he was tired of being sore and having injuries all of the time; he always feared he was just one play away from an injury that would hurt him the rest of his life. Along with the athletics offer, he had earned an academic scholarship so he decided to stay focused on school since he assumed that would help him more after graduation. The problem was that the transition to college had not been as easy as he thought.