By now some of you parents may have noticed that the atmosphere at the lower levels of the high school football team is pretty laid back. Whatever your school calls it - Junior Varsity, Freshman, Sophomore, or Frosh/Soph, the lower levels simply don't get the same treatment as the varsity. In fact, they got more attention in Youth Football! I don't think it's that tough on the kids, but tough on the parents. There are no cheerleaders, fanfare, announcers, band, or crowd. Just the game. Some parents may feel their sons are getting the short end of the stick, that they deserve more attention. After all, aren't they part of the team? Didn't they put in work over the summer and weight train just as hard? Well, I would submit that this low profile approach might actually serve as motivation and could have other benefits as well.
Looking back to my high school days I remember we played our freshmen and sophomore games on our practice field at Woodruff High School in Peoria, IL. This field was about fifty percent grass, forty percent hard dirt, and ten percent cinders. An old cinder track that the track team used for practice encircled the field. The more cinders we threw off the field the more showed up by the next practice or game. There were no bleachers, no P.A. announcer, no scoreboard, and no band or cheerleaders. I can still see my Dad walking the sidelines right next to the team. That's what the fans did, just stood along the sidelines next to the team. But you know what? We didn't care. Heck, we'd have played on bricks if we had to. We just wanted to play football and I knew that when I played varsity I would get to play at Peoria Public Schools Stadium. "The Stadium" as we called it had the lushest grass, brightest scoreboard, prettiest cheerleaders, biggest crowds, and best doggone P.A. system in the country. (At least that's how I remember it). It had two large bleacher sections, one on each side, and one had a roof. The end of the stadium that had the scoreboard was lined with pine trees. It was and still is a pretty stadium. It motivated me to work hard so I could play varsity someday. But if I'd had to I still would have played varsity ball on the old practice field.
There was no pressure in those JV games, we just had fun. We were playing football and that's all that mattered. It kept us humble and made us realize we had to pay our dues like the juniors and seniors had. A lot more due paying than one summer of work. Did we desrve to have our names called out like the varsity on the loudspeaker? Maybe. But heck, with all the noise out there and the wind whistling through the ear holes of my helmet I never heard a P.A. announcer while I was playing in my life. I was into the game. And admit it parents, when your son's name is called out on the loudspeaker for a great play, it's not for his ears, it's for yours. YOU want to hear his name.
Many years later I attended a JV college game that my son was playing in. The scoreboard was on but that was it. Colleges don't play many JV games and I was just thankful he was getting a chance to play. He played well that night, caught several balls from his wide receiver position and had a lot of fun. It never occured to me to be upset that this game wasn't getting the same treatment as a varsity college game.
So, my advice is don't worry about the extras, his day is coming. The coaches don't worry about it and neither do the players. Just relax and enjoy those freshmen and sophomore games. They're learning how to be varsity players, and that's what counts.
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