By Samantha Keller ‘19, Sports Editor

Size, strength, speed, agility, and talent are not an athlete’s only weapons on the field or court. In almost every team sport that exists, communication between players is a key component of a team success. But what often goes unacknowledged are the effects of communication between opposing players. Offensive verbal exchanges between competing players can be just as mentally effective as a strong defense or rapid offense.

In most cases, trash talking usually targets another player’s talent, most specifically their athleticism and physical ability. Though not applicable for all athletes, most are capable of controlling their response when they are targeted in this way. Trash talking becomes more of a trigger when players target topics unrelated to their sport, such as physical appearance or outside relationships. In fact, seasoned soccer player Kai Youngren ’19 explained that even in his experience in high school soccer, “Trash talking is directed at any and all insecurities that someone might have. I have heard insults directed at a player’s height, weight, athleticism, skill level, or team’s skill level, as well as more personal issues like their wealth, social status, race.”

Trash talking is a test of mental toughness for any athlete. The point of trash talking is to throw a player off their game by getting inside their head. As a result, all athletes respond differently. “If someone talks trash to me, usually I respond,” said Kai when asked about his approach to trash talking. “I don’t usually retaliate physically. Instead, my first instinct is to talk trash back. Although it’s cliché, the best form of trash talk is winning, so usually I don’t start talking trash until my team is winning.” Kai went on to acknowledge the effects that trash talking can have on a player’s game. While trash talking can be a motivating force that provokes some players to work harder, it is “easy to channel that anger into something unproductive or detrimental for your team.” High-school and club soccer player Kyra Hermans ’20 agreed, explaining, “The few times I do see a player on the other end of trash talking, it usually frustrates them a lot and can affect their game a bit. But, a lot of the times the player will just use this new-found anger as a form of aggression on the field.” Based on both soccer players’ responses, it is clear that trash talking is commonly a form of motivation for many athletes; but, it often shifts the focus from winning a competition for personal or team satisfaction, to winning as a form of punishment for the trash-talker.

Interestingly, trash talking in many female sports is of a significantly lesser magnitude than that of male sports. Considering trash talk is a form of verbal aggression, and there is significant research to prove that men tend to demonstrate more verbal aggression than women in athletics, this statistical comparison is arguably unsurprising. Unfortunately, it is often the case that women who choose to use trash talking as a weapon are frowned upon, while men who do the same are frequently supported. Kyra confirmed this statement in regard to female high school athletics, saying, “there is very little trash talking that goes on in the game. There may be an occasional sarcastic comment towards the other team but other than that there is little communication between teams.”

Competition in athletics includes more than just the physical aspect of any sport. From the high-school level, all the way up to professional sports, trash-talking has definitely become a relevant part of rivalries and player performance.