The Importance of Lower Level Sports

The junior varsity (JV) and frosh-soph programs, teams that are often overlooked, play an imperative role in the future success of the Samo sports programs. Even though they don’t hold the spotlight, the lower level sports teams are just as valuable as varsity teams. With funding being a pressing issue, these teams are sadly becoming the targets of potential cuts. But do the people making the cuts fully realize what they would be taking away?First of all, having lower level programs directly feeds into the varsity teams, as they are a way to develop players with the potential to be of high caliber. They enable coaches to give younger players time to be able to experiment and figure out their strengths and weaknesses. In a lower competitive environment, you’re able to develop confidence in your ability to play your sport, and learn the inner workings of the game. It gives you your first taste of victory, and teaches you how to handle defeat. The classic example of this is, of course, Michael Jordan. Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan spent his sophomore year playing with the JV team. It was during his time playing with the JV team that he became more motivated to redeem himself after not making the varsity team. He soon morphed into the star of the JV team and made varsity the next year, and well... you know how the rest went. The lower level programs also allow sports to be exposed to a wider variety of people. For those of us who grew up playing in non-serious recreation leagues (rather than intense club teams), the frosh-soph and JV teams not only give students an opportunity to develop skill, but to adjust to competitive environments. These teams also make it possible for players who don’t want to play sports in college to play the sport that they love just for the sake of having fun in a lower-intensity atmosphere. It gives more students the opportunity to get that aspect of the high school experience.Of course, the other upside of having more students in sports programs is that we have more people experiencing the impact that being an athlete can have on you. I’m not just referring to the fact that you’re able to stay in shape. There’s so many other unspoken benefits of sports. You’re able to learn things that will stick with you your whole life—what is means to work together, the power of hard work and how to learn from your mistakes. You’re able to develop better work ethic that you can apply to academics, or meet a great coach that will push you to do well in sports and in school. There are even the special cases where you get to be a part of a family, and meet many different people that you may have never spoken to otherwise. I know that for me personally, I’ve met a majority of my friends through my sport, basketball.With funding being a prominent issue, I hope that people think twice when deciding on whether or not to cut funding for lower-level teams. It’s important that people know what else they would be putting at stake.