Life for a student-athlete is not glamorous. During the 2025-2026 season at Foothill College, the Women’s Basketball Team starts its day at 5 a.m., with early morning wake-up calls. These players maintain a demanding work ethic, balancing  classes, jobs, along with their social lives and extracurricular activities. Yet, in pop culture, a negative misconception prevails in movies and on TV shows that student-athletes are privileged, wealthy, and lazy. Even on campus, some students acknowledge they once believed these negative attitudes toward student-athletes. I asked students and players whether stereotypes about student-athletes influence their perspectives on them. Their answers were surprising.  

Johnnie Chu, a STEM transfer student, admitted he once believed the stereotypes, saying, “I had the bad assumption that jocks were mostly focused on sports and partying.” However, Chu’s perspective changed once he was partnered in class with a player from the Foothill Women’s Basketball Team. “She was one of the most disciplined students in class,” Chu said. He was shocked when he learned the same student later secured competitive internship offers in STEM, from companies like Google and Apple. “Getting to know her personally, studying, and working with her changed my perspective completely.”

Freshman forward Kennedy Johnson, who plays on the Foothill Women’s Basketball Team, pointed out, “People see the games, but they don’t see the workouts, the travel, film sessions, and sometimes even working jobs.” She arrives at Foothill College by 6:00 a.m., and hits the court running full speed, where she does an additional one-hour-and-fifteen-minute workout in the fitness center. Some days, she also works a regular job. She goes to bed at midnight and must wake up early the next morning to do it all over again. 

Head Coach Steven Mitchell says the team was held to a high standard of performance on and off the court; no one had a GPA under 3.2. Rather than coasting through privilege, players on the Foothill Women’s Basketball Team are serious about academics and transferring to four-year schools to advance their careers. “Everyone assumes student-athletes are easily given everything,” Mitchell said. “But the truth is, these young women earn every accomplishment they have.” 

Mitchell stated that the focus of the Foothill Women’s Basketball program is to teach young players the importance of discipline and resilience; it’s not just about winning games. Student-athletes struggle with the intense pressure of completing their homework, getting passing grades, winning and losing games, and the desire to socialize like regular college students. Their schedule shows the discipline behind their success, a level of commitment most students rarely experience.