Under the bright stadium lights, people often forget the scoreboard only tells a fraction of the narrative – it tracks points, wins and losses, but misses the exhaustion and endless pressures felt by those wearing the jerseys.

Photographer Kaylee Mckee captures the raw emotions and stories at high school sporting events, peeling back the layers of these student athletes and proving that sports are more than just a game.

She shares her work on her Instagram account, flickedbykaylee, which has more than 460 followers.

Mckee has been taking, editing and posting photos of athletes for about a year and a half, attending multiple games a week. She says that throughout that time she “noticed how fans only really saw the gameplay and not the players behind it.”

She decided to shift her focus to her passion project, “More Than Just a Game.”

“’More Than Just a Game’ means showing people that athletes are human beings first, not just players,” she said. “It’s about being seen, athlete mental health, the person behind the uniform, my purpose as a photographer, and changing the perspective.”

Her photos include plenty of game action, but also shots of athletes and their facial expressions as they win, lose and become emotional.

Her project has been welcomed by the student athlete community.

“It makes me feel really special because it’s like I get a shout out,” said Joshua Vandyke, a varsity football player.

“It makes me feel good. It makes me feel noticed,” teammate Abreham Emaus said.

Parents also see first-hand the burdens their teen athletes endure each day.

“There’s more than just kids running around chasing the ball and chasing the other guy that has the ball,” said Assistant Football Coach and science teacher Shane Worley, who is the father of multiple student athletes.

He added that it’s easy for supporters in the stands to forget that the athletes are people, let alone teenagers, and says people need to remember, “not only are they playing a game, but they’re also dealing with life as it comes at them.”

The reality that these athletes are facing challenges beyond the scoreboard is exactly why Mckee felt capturing this through her lens was essential.

“I think a common misconception people have about athletes is that just because they are physically strong, they are also mentally strong,” she said. “That idea is just plain false.”

By Annabelle Lovelace