High School Practice

[Rocketech1]

Why wouldn't you practice JV right along varsity? Our schools around here have been doing as long as I can remember. Especially outdoors. The JV will one day be the V. Learning to hit off V pitchers, learning to catch V pitchers, learning the "running game" of V players, and learning to field off V hitters advances them quicker than not using those training tools. ( my opinion ) We do a lot of mixed squad games at practice.

You are only looking at it from the perspective of the JV players. How much do V players get out of playing with younger, less talented JV players. It's like having a 14U"A" travel ball team playing with 12U"A" every day. Not sure this is a good thing for the 14U team, week in and week out?

 

[starsnuffer]

We practice JV along with Varsity, however nearly everything we do is broken up into stations with groups of players, and players are assigned in set groups. Pitchers and catchers are in their own group so that they go to the bullpens together and get P&C specific agility/strength training at the conditioning station. The weaker "developmental" players on the JV team are grouped together so that they are not put in unsafe situations and the better JV players are grouped with girls who will challenge them and encourage them to improve.

When we do inter-program scrimmages the JV and V are split pretty evenly and we try to make sure to rotate pitchers according to the batters up.

I can't tell you how much this has improved the program since we moved to it away from the old "JV on one field and V on the other and never the two shall meet" philosophy. In the end, the point is to have a successful program at the V level, and the only way to do that is to encourage players from a program standpoint, not pigeonhole based on talent at the time.

-W

 

[iMlearning]

JV/varsity

We have two softball fields and they separate the two teams.

 

[Cannonball]

I don't think I can name one team in my area that goes 2 hours or less. Typically for softball, I went 3 hours 6 days a week. Keep in mind that there are other things that have to be done besides practice like taking care of the field. We have a tarp and so, in the spring, we have to put it on and take it off. Our maintenance crew at the HS will not touch either the baseball or softball tarp.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

You are only looking at it from the perspective of the JV players. How much do V players get out of playing with younger, less talented JV players. It's like having a 14U"A" travel ball team playing with 12U"A" every day. Not sure this is a good thing for the 14U team, week in and week out?

If you don't "run" it correctly, you're right, it's counter productive. Starsnuffer covered almost exactly how we used the combination to be positive.

We had 2 of our best players ( D1 signees ) get hurt last year at the end of the season. Guess who took their place during the playoffs and state championships? Yep, the JV players who had been practicing along side their varsity counterparts.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Scrimmage 2 days after tryouts, games start in a matter of days,

In TN you have a month of practice time ( field ) before the date of first contest ( state rules ), is this not typical? If not, maybe that's why it works for us mixing.

Also, we do summer tryouts for the next spring season. I believe it's a big advantage as it gives the girls bonding time during the winter conditioning dates.

 

[Cannonball]

I split practice with a part of practice with JV and then they left to go to their field. When in the gym, then the cage was off limits to the JV. However, I had 5 hitting stations on the balcony and a couple on the gym floor. As with outside, the time came when JV took off and Varsity finished. We have a great relationship with the baseball team (I coached both and coached the HC of the baseball team) and so, we always seemed to be able to finish our stuff. Typically, softball after school got the gym and then, baseball. Softball and baseball switched in the hallway and did "other stuff" like video work, walk through on various defenses, ...

 

[GOINGDEEP]

We have a sport called --------. BTW: Have you seen how the herd of kids on jv and v ------- teams? One day I swear I saw 50 girls and 70 boys trying to find a place to play indoors. But the mats are gone in the wrestling room so we are on that room like flies on ..... Basketball playoffs are on and wow it is loud in there being adjacent to the gym; our players will be ready for anything.

Yes our scrimmages begin typically right after tryouts, no rules against it.

PS: JV at our school does not contribute that much to V, probably 1/3 max, although it will be higher next year. The good kids go right to V in 9th. We take maybe 1-2 kids up from JV for playoffs, almost always 10th graders who improved on JV; take another 1-2 JVs up in tryouts the next year. Our JV coach provides a lot of instruction to the kids and cuts far less of them. Many play their last year of ball in 10th and don't make V. We do try and have 3-4 players/class kind of ratio to keep consistency, but hard to control that.

OILF, one way we keep the wide range of talent between JV and V down is a small roster. My DD's 4 years the ENTIRE roster for softball was between 19-22. My opinion is schools who keep large rosters actually hurt themselves. Keeping 10-15 extra players for the "feel good" is temporary. Sally and her parents are jumping for joy that she made the team, but then complain for 3 months because she is sitting the bench.

A roster, whether softball or baseball, is better managed when small. Just like a teacher to class student body ratio.

Another thing we do is give the JV players varsity GAME experience when applicable. They pinch run, they courtesy run, they get a couple of innings in position when we get far ahead or against the "gimmie games".

These are the same "ideas" I had to sell our HS coach on. As there may have been many factors, after one year, my DD's freshman year, things started "developing". Her sophomore year they went to state for the first time in the 25 year program. They also reached the state playoffs for 3 years in a row. Some of the JV players contributed to those accomplishments, some small some big.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[YOCOACH]

V and JV practice together at DD's HS They usually partner a Freshman/Sophomore with a Junior/Senior at their position to help mentor them. They practice 2 hours a day 6 days a week. They take Friday off. Either team will practice by themselves only when the other has a scrimmage. It has definitely made the program stronger. Up until 3 years ago, when the new coaches took over, they had not had a winning season in the previous 15+ years. Last year they won their district championships and made a good run in regionals. This year they hope to go even further.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

They can't play Varsity here and go back to JV. We already had that discussion.

What state is that? It's not a NFHS rule, it has to be a state amendment.