He tries to catch his breath as he runs across the field, hoping to block his opponent. His movements are swift, and he manages to prevent the touchdown by the other team. Soon after, practice is over, and he rushes to change into his suit and tie, already on a time crunch to get to the concert.

Junior Roy Hamilton is part of the school’s football team and an orchestra member, two contrasting organizations that most people consider to be polar opposites. Hamilton has been a football player since the fourth grade and said his dad inspired him to play football. In regards to orchestra, Hamilton started to play the cello in sixth grade and was inspired to pursue music at a young age.

“I remember I used to watch this movie ‘Fantasia’ a lot, and it really inspired me to do what I do,” Hamilton said.

Because Hamilton is in both organizations, he has to find a balance between the both of them. When he needs to participate in rehearsals or football practice, Hamilton notifies his coach and orchestra director ahead of time.

“See, last year, it always used to be athletics over orchestra all in all,” Hamilton said. “But I felt like that was kind of unfair to the top orchestra, and they really needed me over there. I wasn’t giving them enough attention.”

Hamilton said that although he does prefer football a little bit more, he still enjoys the both of them. He loves football and orchestra because they act as his stress reliever whenever he is upset.

“You can’t always beat it out of somebody,” Hamilton said. “Orchestra is that other way that I get to express how I feel through music.”

Being a football player has changed Hamilton mentally and taught him how to become a better team player and socializer. However, Hamilton said he encountered some difficulties throughout the process.

“As an athlete, it was definitely [hard] stepping up from JV to Varsity, because it’s a totally different ball game,” Hamilton said. “You have to learn how to use your head, be smart with every move that you make and all of that. You can really feel the bond that we have.”

Hamilton’s favorite things about orchestra are going on fun trips and making good music.

“In orchestra, every time for UIL, we always play better than we did at practice,” Hamilton said. “We’ll sound really terrible, but then we’ll go out there and sound like we never struggled. We’re a really tight knit group and family.”

Typically, people do not often pursue hobbies or interests that are not closely related to each other. In addition to this, there are stereotypes that label football players as rowdy and tough, while classical musicians are generally perceived as being reserved. However, Hamilton feels like he does not fit into these stereotypes and said that he thinks he is both a good football player and musician. Hamilton also said that at first, his friends were surprised that he was in orchestra.

“It’s not right to think of football players as just being tough and not being into orchestral music,” Hamilton said. “When it comes to football and music, nobody should be judged based off the music they like. Nobody should have to go through getting made fun of because they are not good enough as an athlete [or] they’re not good enough as a musician. If you like what you’re doing, don’t worry about what anybody thinks.”