Varsity teams are undeniably a major component of school culture and are recognized as such. However, the attention they receive from the student body, whether it be through social media coverage, student publications or crowds at their games, significantly overshadows the contributions of frosh/soph and junior varsity teams.
Although the importance of varsity athletes should not go unrecognized, growing athletes must be acknowledged to the same extent.
Despite being at an earlier stage, JV and frosh/soph teams are essential for athletes to develop skills, offering a space to grow before advancing to the higher level. While varsity teams refine skills for competitive matches, frosh/soph focuses on building the fundamentals.
“Lower level teams are important for students who want to pursue the sport they’re interested in,” frosh/soph girls tennis captain sophomore Lizzy Li said. “It gives them an outlet to make mistakes and learn more about the sport without the pressure of competing at such a high level like varsity.”
Furthermore, JV teams are adapted to practicing and playing at a similar level as varsity.
Not only do they train with the same rigor and intensity as varsity, but for some sports, JV members are often called in to replace sick or absent varsity players.
“Our varsity and JV teams practice with each other, so they have the same coaches, workouts and are expected to do everything that the varsity team does,” boys water polo head coach Kyle Kim-E said. “JV guys are expected to be at all the practices, be at all the games and know all the varsity plays because they never know when they could be pulled up.”
Having encouragement during games is essential to help get student athletes into a positive mindset, as it allows them to feel supported and embrace challenges with confidence.
The disproportionate amount of support received by frosh/soph and JV teams from the school community, compared to varsity teams, can hinder their performance during games.
“We can get into our heads when we lose a match or keep making the same mistake,” Li said. “It’s especially hard mentally when we don’t have that reassurance from our parents and peers like varsity does.”
Supporting frosh/soph and JV teams can be as simple as reposting Instagram posts that promote their upcoming games, or spreading the word through friends.
“The more support we get, the more excitement and hype we feel, but without it, we can be a little stale on the field,” JV flag football player junior Emily Wang said. “Bringing cowbells to the game, cheering or showing support in any way is really helpful.”
