That Junior on JV

​By Jade

For most high school athletes, being on varsity by the time one hits junior year is expected. Almost every junior gets onto their sport’s respective varsity, has a great time, etc. However, I was a very special case. 

I play on my school’s basketball team and at one point, I wasn’t exactly the best player. I lacked the work ethic and skills of my teammates, and spent most of my time on the bench. Additionally, I disliked playing basketball, which made me not try during drills. The JV coach was verbally abusive and made me feel useless. After the JV team lost its first coach, we had a replacement who was better, but that did nothing to boost my confidence. It had already been lost.

For the 2020-2021 school year, basketball tryouts were a bit different for me. I almost managed to skip out on joining the team, but my mom insisted that I would have to join since I needed more exercise. I’m glad she insisted or I would’ve missed out on the joy of basketball.

Taking a different approach from last year, I decided to try to enjoy basketball instead - which started with trying my hardest at every drill. I have to admit: I was severely out of shape. Additionally, the requirement of wearing masks made exercising much harder. Although I was the only player who had to constantly take breaks (and was called out for it), I still tried my best, hoping that I could be one of those people on varsity, especially since there weren't enough people for a JV team.

My math was a little off. At the end of tryouts, I was informed that I was going to play JV. The coach informed me that teams were going to be a bit smaller, which meant lots of playing time. I was devastated and humiliated. I had never thought that I would be on JV. I was disappointed and sad. But honestly, when I look back, my placement on JV was justified.

Looking back at it, I had some weird coping mechanisms. At first, I really enjoyed making jokes about myself being a benchwarmer. I suppose that could be credited to my low self-esteem. Eventually, I stopped making self-deprecating comments and instead made jokes about JV standing for “Jade’s Varsity.” After joking about my supposedly miserable circumstances, I finally admitted to myself that doing this wasn’t going to be helpful at all.

Being on JV was actually beneficial for me. Due to the lack of pressure from varsity games, our practices were more relaxed and slow-paced, which was great for an out-of-shape Jade. Sometimes, not all of the JV team members were able to attend practice due to other sport practices going on at the same time. Practicing with varsity was great as well, because it gradually taught me how to play at a faster pace. 

Being on JV allowed me to practice my skills. Surrounded by teammates whom I had played with last year, they created a place where I wouldn’t constantly fall behind. Moreover, the new JV coach was extremely encouraging, which boosted my confidence even more.

This increase of confidence led to better performances during games. One of my biggest fears in the basketball world were the games. I hated the pressure because I felt incompetent. However, my confidence allowed me to begin to dribble on a regular basis. This might sound stupid, but I was scared to even dribble during my sophomore year, because I didn’t believe in myself. Soon, I had enough confidence to try to shoot the ball.

For me, being on JV for another year was great. After two years on JV, I think I’ll be ready to play varsity during senior year. Even if I don’t get to play varsity during senior year, being on JV again sounds great. So maybe being ‘that junior on JV’ isn’t so bad after all.​