JV - path to Varsity or dead end?

[DryHeat]

Just curious of opinions and experiences here. I know every school is different.

Our HS JV has become a place where lesser players go, and they rarely progress to Varsity. We have 3 of 15 Varsity players that spent time on JV, one of whom would likely still be on JV if she was not a senior. Only 3 JV players are returners from last year and only 1 moved up to varsity. Basically it becomes clear to most of them they will never move up.

Meanwhile we have 4 freshman on Varsity, 2 last year, and 4 the year before that. All of them are experienced TB players.

So...does your program develop JV to V as they get older, or are they bypassed?

 

[cvsoftball]

When I was doing school ball, the Varsity coach would sit down with JV coach and Modified coach(me). She would tell the JV coach what she was going to need the following year and check who she might call up in the current year. She would let me know who she was going to be needing in 2 years. As the Modified coach, I would make a point of reaching out to the travel and rec teams for 10U and 12U. IMO, this is how a softball program should be run. I still see this with the better schools and I have never seen it with those schools who don't have a clue.

 

[The Man In Blue]

You hit the nail on the head in your first line ... it all depends on the school. I think the critical piece is defining that up front within your program. Is your JV going to be a lower-level of competition and developmental? Is your JV going to be all of your freshmen and sophomores, while varsity is only upperclassmen? Is your varsity going to be your best players regardless of grade, and JV is everybody else?

JV can be a stepping stone to varsity, or it can be its own little thing.

In my personal experience, schools I have seen have such trouble getting players, JV is usually an afterthought. Many times schools won't even have JV teams. This even includes some of the city schools (not just the small rural ones).

Around here, middle school typically plays most sports by grade level. Softball and baseball are the exception, utilizing an A/B format (could be considered V/JV, I suppose).

 

[HunterMO]

DD’s HS has had an embarrassment of riches the last few years in terms of player talent. So Freshman/Sophomore players who could play Varsity in smaller programs play their first one or two years on JV. Then move to Varsity their final two years. The coaches for each are the same for each squad. And they also coach the Jr High program. So, for DD’s situation, JV is a path to Varsity.

There have been instances where a Freshman or Sophomore have beat out a Junior. But the last few years the Varsity team has been so strong there’s been no need for it.

 

[CoachJD]

For those who don't know: Small school, and one of the few schools our size with a full JV team. Every year I get 6-10 girls with no softball experience. This year is going to be weird. Lost 4 seniors (3 contributors), 6 girls transferred (3 V and 3 JV, but all 3 JV had a shot at V; all 3 JV transferred during this school year), and 1 senior this year is choosing not to play. The only other time I lost that many players was in 2021, and that was coming off the lost Covid season and we were all remote learning, so some girls didn't play simply because they had no way to get to/from school. In 2021, our "JV" was just a 5-player squad who traveled with us to games but didn't play any actual JV games. They all would get an AB here and there. This year, I lost all those players, but I will still have a real JV team. This year's gonna be a lot different for us.

Normally, JV serves two purposes: Stepping stone to varsity and a place to put girls/fill out the JV roster. We are never, ever going to get 25 legit softball players on our teams. If I want a JV team, I'm going to have girls who are, for lack of a better word, roster filler. I treat it not unlike a Major League baseball team treats its minor leagues. Not every guy in pro ball is a prospect.

The stepping stone girls are usually being groomed for a specific varsity spot, though sometimes it's a girl with raw athleticism who just needs to learn the game.

Important to note that the "filler" players might be filler at the beginning, but everybody gets an opportunity. I don't have the luxury of labeling someone and sticking with it. I need whatever talent I can get, so evaluation is fluid and constant.

I think of it this way because I know what I'm going to get and who sticks around. I usually can get a couple years out of those Freshmen, but I know they're not all sticking around for four years. They're trying something new, and they're not all going to love it. So I expect a lot of roster churn year to year with JV, but no good players are on JV for long.

 

[angispeds]

Really depends on the school. We have an extremely deep program but generally every year there are 2-3 players with serious high level talent. So you figure 6-8 players have been on varsity getting significant playing time since their freshman or at worst sophomore year. Other players move up and fill in the other positions but a lot don’t play much and just get to say they are on varsity. This year unfortunately we are weak in the circle. We have 4 yr D1 catcher, a 2yr sophomore first baseman, our 2nd base is up for grabs, a 3 yr sec shortstop, a 2 yr (injured freshman yr) sec 3b, a 2yr left fielder, 3 yr d2 center fielder, and rf open. Our likely dp is another d2 catcher. Fighting for spots are several d1-d3committed players that have yet to break into the varsity line up. It’s a dog fight every year and lots of kids that could have played varsity for 4 yrs virtually any where else rarely see the field here.

 

[DKOfTFC]

Just curious of opinions and experiences here. I know every school is different.

Our HS JV has become a place where lesser players go, and they rarely progress to Varsity. We have 3 of 15 Varsity players that spent time on JV, one of whom would likely still be on JV if she was not a senior. Only 3 JV players are returners from last year and only 1 moved up to varsity. Basically it becomes clear to most of them they will never move up.

Meanwhile we have 4 freshman on Varsity, 2 last year, and 4 the year before that. All of them are experienced TB players.

So...does your program develop JV to V as they get older, or are they bypassed?

Just curious of opinions and experiences here. I know every school is different.

Our HS JV has become a place where lesser players go, and they rarely progress to Varsity. We have 3 of 15 Varsity players that spent time on JV, one of whom would likely still be on JV if she was not a senior. Only 3 JV players are returners from last year and only 1 moved up to varsity. Basically it becomes clear to most of them they will never move up.

Meanwhile we have 4 freshman on Varsity, 2 last year, and 4 the year before that. All of them are experienced TB players.

So...does your program develop JV to V as they get older, or are they bypassed?

Should NOT be the case - especially for DEEP programs. JV should follow other sports progams, where the JV teams are really focused on developmental and the goal to push them up into Varsity.

That being said, there are always going to be cases where some girls come in to just find a sport to be involved with - and just are NOT able to make the jump needed to play at a Varsity level.

 

[Northball]

In our small school case (110-115/grade), seniors are on varsity, for pretty much all team sports. They may not play much if they aren't all that good, but it would be embarrassing to be a senior and on JV.
JV is the stepping stone to varsity. 90% play JV in that 9th-10th grade range. A couple get pulled up to varsity as needed.
Very rare, but it does happen where an 8th grader gets pulled up to varsity for softball.

 

[Youngabunga]

Just curious of opinions and experiences here. I know every school is different.

Our HS JV has become a place where lesser players go, and they rarely progress to Varsity. We have 3 of 15 Varsity players that spent time on JV, one of whom would likely still be on JV if she was not a senior. Only 3 JV players are returners from last year and only 1 moved up to varsity. Basically it becomes clear to most of them they will never move up.

Meanwhile we have 4 freshman on Varsity, 2 last year, and 4 the year before that. All of them are experienced TB players.

So...does your program develop JV to V as they get older, or are they bypassed?

A Varsity coach will look for quality players whether they come from JV or not. So the real question is, is your JV team preparing the players for Varsity? Does your community support fastpitch in general?

My neighborhood does not unfortunately. They barely tolerate fastpitch and favor baseball. And our JV team does not provide skill development. So kids who want to be better and compete at a higher are forced to go into travel ball.

 

[uncdrew]

We have a lot of JV players quit the team come Junior year. They know they'd sit on Varsity and their egos won't let them be JV. Practice takes so much time and energy it really makes no sense to practice each and every day and then not play. Honestly, I think quitting is the right call for them. Just so many things girls want to do with their time after school (studying, jobs, hanging out, etc.).