Senior Austin Golya walked off the soccer field last year without a chance of playing in a championship game, ending his soccer career after one year of fresh-soph and two years of JV soccer.
The IAAM and MIAA have created the way coaches and students view JV sports. Both leagues have moved away from recognized championships and playoff games for that level.
“The schools have been put in a position where JV is truly a developmental area,” Athletic Director Larry Dukes said. JV teams provide an opportunity for some athletes who would otherwise not have a chance to play high school sports. By eliminating JV championships, those students no longer have the experience of competing for a championship.
“They end their athletic career without much, except for preparing them for something they cannot obtain,” said Dukes.
Golya was not too disappointed by not competing for a championship. “It was more fun than taking [the training] seriously,” he said. “On JV, the training was not forced upon you.”
Golya liked his experience on the JV soccer team. He felt that his JV soccer coach Brian Powell “knew that we were not as competitive, but [he] still treated us professionally.”
Depending on the sport, some varsity coaches, such as the baseball and softball, look to the JV team to develop underclassmen players for the years to come. But in other sports, the talent pool is so big that they can draw players from places other than the JV teams.
“In [women’s] varsity soccer, a lot of soccer players come in as freshmen and are good enough to play on the varsity level,” said Dukes. “The number of athletes that come from the JV rank is a very small number due to the talent pool you have to work with.”
Coaches’ main focus on JV teams is for individual development. “On varsity, the expectation is that when they get there, their skills are honed to a level that [the coach] does not need to spend as much time on that but more on the team strategy,” said Dukes. Practices at the JV level are drill-heavy, as to solidify the fundamentals in players.
Within sports, there are two options concerning talented freshmen: promote them to varsity or let them gain experience on JV.
“In my opinion, if a freshman is going to be able to contribute and play, then I would promote them to varsity as a freshman,” said Dukes.
Varsity baseball coach Joe Stetka agrees with Dukes. “I do want to get the players early in their high school career to really drill the game into them,” Stetka said.
Badminton coach and former JV field hockey coach Tess Gauthier would rarely choose freshmen to play on the varsity field hockey team. “I feel that [freshmen] need to be outstanding to be promoted,” said Gauthier.
Gauthier reasons that freshmen lose the “social setting and leadership skills” by moving them up to varsity.
In addition, according to Dukes, many freshmen are not prepared to play on varsity due to their skill level and physical strength.
Even with such obstacles, women’s sports are more likely to move up talented freshmen than in men’s sports. “On the women’s side, a freshman has had enough physical development to play competitively with older women,” said Dukes.
Male freshmen come into high school with a disadvantage. “There is a big difference between a 13- or 14-year-old young man and an 18-year-old,” said Dukes.
Some teams, such as wrestling, track and field, and swimming, do not have the strong divide between JV and varsity. JV players can be moved up to varsity positions when varsity players are missing or if they are particularly good at one event.
Many teams are moving away from a completely separate varsity team and JV team. Gauthier believes that establishing “strong communication” between JV and varsity coaches and teams is essential to a good program.
Stetka agrees with this approach. “We work both JV & varsity squads together now in the early stages of the workouts. I feel that both teams need to be doing the same things in case I need to bring up a player from the JV squad,” said Stetka.
Golya experienced some interaction between the JV and varsity soccer teams. The JV team would scrimmage against the varsity team to try out their skills against talented opponents.
“We also went to the varsity games to watch them and learn techniques,” said Golya. While cheering on their classmates, Golya and other JV players watch as their classmates try for something they hope to obtain – a championship.
Rachel Kokoska can be reached for comment at [email protected].