If you think of Troy Bolton when you think of any athlete joining theatre, then you're not alone.

It's honestly disappointing that he is really the only representation that theatre gets when it comes to sports. All across America, theatre is being pushed off to the side to make way for more sports, but have sports ever considered the effect that theatre could have on its players? Surprisingly enough, it won't make you gay.

1. It will teach you patience.

No matter what area you enter into in theatre, you will need a lot of patience. For a normal high school production, you have to throw an entire show together in two to three months. That means you are most likely going to be working while the crew builds, or testing mics the night before the show and not having it on. If you leave with anything, it's going to be a lot of patience.

2. It will teach you artistry.

You're probably used to listening to your music, and that's about it. Once you join theatre, it's a whole other ball game. You will be thrown into dance routines that will make your head spin and vocal parts that you've most likely never heard of. You'll learn that more music exists out there, and there's a chance you'll actually like it.

3. It will teach you respect.

Do you realize just how many women respect men who do theatre? Or how much respect you receive for being versatile? You learn to understand personal space and autonomy. Theatre is one of the safest places for somebody to be themselves. You can really be you there, and you'll receive so much respect.

4. It will make you flexible.

And I don't mean just bodily. True, you'll be bent into every position possible just to choreograph three minutes of a two hour show, but you'll learn how be mentally be flexible. You'll start to understand just how to make your schedule work for you and how to prioritize.

5. It will teach you poise.

If you were to ask any football player from before 2000, a majority would say that they were forced to do ballet. Why? Because ballet teaches balance and precision. It also teaches strong attention to detail and great listening skills. It's very rare that you'll see ballet in theatre, but any kind of dance can teach you poise and posture.

6. It will show you a new kind of commitment.

We may spend the same amount of time practicing, but it's for a whole different reason. We go months without showing anyone our talents, meanwhile you have Friday Night Football and games each week. The only difference is while you're running sprints, we're running numbers, and without fail, at least one person either hurts themselves or missteps, causing us all to do it twenty more times. We give up weekends, holidays, and even birthdays for our art.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is if you can't step up to the plate, sit on the sidelines and support us, just like we support you all at every one of your games. And if you can't, we will always have Troy Bolton.