Junior varsity teams play a crucial role in developing and preparing their athletes for varsity competition. Despite their hard work and achievements, they often go unnoticed.
Amari Anderson, ‘27, has been on the JVB women’s volleyball team for two years and has often noticed a significant lack of student attendance at JVB games compared to varsity games.
“Volleyball at our school isn’t that popular, but you see people coming to those [varsity] games,” Anderson said. “When you see our games, nobody is there other than your parents. It’s more quiet here, and sometimes varsity [players] are just working on their homework, not paying attention as much.”
Despite the lack of support, some JV athletes believe it does have a significant impact on their performance due to the strong support they receive from their team members.
“I think we do pretty good,” Yori Chamberlain, ‘27, who has been on the JVA women’s volleyball team for two years, said. “We keep each other positive, and we just play our best. [If we lost] we told each other that we were ok and got the next [game].”
Tazara Prophett, ‘26, now on the varsity cheer team, was formerly on the JV team for a season. She observed significant differences between the two environments. For one, she noticed that varsity is held up to higher expectations, especially from coaches and parents.
“I’d say being on varsity, it’s a little more pressure because you’re the example,” Prophett said.
One benefit of the JV environment is that it is less stressful, which allows athletes to focus on gaining experience, building confidence and developing skills, which they are also able to learn from attending varsity games.
“[Our] coaches say we have to stay for at least a set for varsity teams, so it’s nice because I’m a visual learner, so I get to watch them,” Anderson said.
However, many JV athletes agree that when it comes to practices, they often receive the short end of the stick. Since there is more at stake for varsity teams, JV teams have lower priority in scheduling.
“I think it annoys a lot of my teammates because we don’t get to have the best practice times, or we have to practice with the other teams and don’t get our own practice,” Satiana Hackworth, ‘27, a player on the JVB volleyball team, said.
One common assumption is that varsity always has a better record than JV teams, which Hackworth does not believe is necessarily true.
“No one comes to our games, even though we probably do the best of all the [volleyball] teams,” Hackworth said. “I think we’re definitely overlooked because we have the best records out of all the volleyball teams right now.”
Even with the pros and cons of playing JV, the dedication and hard work of JV athletes are essential stepping stones for future varsity stars.
“People may overlook [JV players] as though they are not good enough, but if you think about it, going to varsity is learning from JV, and it’s just where you start,” Anderson said.