Freshman playing Varsity

I played on my varsity team this year as a ninth grader. I got to play maybe half the game but my skills suffered. I ould have played the entire game of a jv team but my skills still might have suffered cuz they slacked in practice but more playing time might have made a difference.

 

I'm in 8th grade played on J.V started, and leading scorer, and got moved up for sectionals, and have full intent to play on Varsity.

You may suffer play time, but practices should help it, but I suggest if you didn't play J.V, play that before you play Varsity.

 

im a freshman right now and im in a great situation. i get to practice with the varsity team but i play the majority of my games with jv. when we play the crappier teams i get to play varsity so i dont just have to sit. i am also going to get moved up for regionals at the end of the season. u should ask your coach if u could do that so u get to gain experience with varsity and get a lot of playing time with jv

 

All schools I know usually have a tryout with all the players and then decide who will be on which team. I don't think you will have much say in the matter.

If you get picked for the Varsity, that would be a tough thing to turn down. It's up to you of course, but I think just being around the older guys (practice and just socially) will be a good experience for you and for your future.

 

I've been out of high school for about 4 years now but I was a four-year varsity player. I think if your coach puts you on Varsity, you should go for it. Work hard and you could earn your way into the lineup or at least up your playing time. I went from back up keeper to playing at least a half in every game.

Also, if you play on a club team that is at least decently competitive, you should play varsity if you're elligible. The experience of even practicing with the older players will help your athletic development both psychologically (as long as you understand that you are not a hot shot and still need to learn) and physically. This could carry over to your club team and by the time your a sophomore, you'll realize your skill has improved ten fold.

Just understand that as a freshman varsity player, you're subject to much more work then the rest of the team. You need to learn more, grow more, and probably become more fit. It's a shock going from the most reliable player to your previous coaches to the last option for your new coach, just go in willing to learn and be patient. good luck kid.

 

I played on Varsity my freshman year of HS... I have to say practicing with the Varsity girls taught me a lot, and I learned new things all the time which made my game stronger and better. If you have the chance to play on the Varisty team, I encourage it, you'll learn more.

But, thats just IMO.

 

If you can make the varsity team go for it, the speed of play is considerably faster than at the JV level. I know some high school teams play a few varsity players in the JV games if they don't play in the varsity games, so you could be on varsity but still play a good amount.

 

Depends on your coach. For us, we have a really good 9th grade coach (He's the local premier coach). We have a not-so-good JV coach. Then we have a good varsity coach. But experience never hurts.

 

I am a freshman this year, and I played varsity, one of two freshman on the team playing with nine seniors. I will be starting next year and although I only played 1/3-1/2 the time I think I was better off then on J.V. And of course you get a varsity letter as a freshman which always looks good.

 

Excellent practices are great, but it's no substitute for competitive games. If you get accepted to varsity, I'd talk to your coach. Say you realize you won't play 90 minutes (or whatever) every game but ask him to tell you honestly if he expects that you'd get a decent amount of playing time.

If he says no, I'd seriously consider waiting a year, especially as you seem worried about your size (then again, if you're skillful enough and smart, it won't matter; remember Maradona was only 5'4). Especially if there are several more experienced players ahead of you at your position. Sitting on the bench will cost you a bit of your sharpness next year.

 

This would really depend on many things. My freshman son played varsity this past season on a team that we knew would be very good. He is a very skilled player (is on the regional ODP team), so we knew he had the ability. We also worried that he wouldn't get enough playing time. The team was made up of 14 seniors, 5 juniors, and 1 freshman. Things worked out well for him. He was a starter, the team got second in state (after 4 overtimes), and most of all, I feel that his skills really improved practicing with all of the varsity players. He also became friends with many upperclassman (always good for a freshman to have others looking out for them).

As far as size, my son is about 5'5 and around 125 lbs.

I guess it would also make a difference as to whether or not you would enjoy being on the bench if you feel you might not get as much playing time on the varsity team. Maybe you could get a feel at tryouts as to what your chances would be to earn that starting position and work hard to achieve it.

It was a great experience for our son (and us). However, it's very easy to say that now that the season is over.

 

I think you should play varsity. Even if you don't get much playing time, your skills will still improve by training with varsity. As for size, it doesn't really matter and that is coming from a goalkeeper that is not very tall. When I started as goalkeeper my sophmore year, I was 14, about 5' 7''or 5' 8'', and I weighed 125 pounds, but I still played very well.

 

I train a lot of kids between 7th grade to seniors in HS and I always tell them try to make the varsity squad and when you do ask the coach if you can play some JV games as well as some of the varsity games to keep you sharp. By doing this, you are #1 showing the coach that you want to stay sharp just in case you aren't getting the time on varsity #2 if you are getting time, that you are wanting to keep getting better. Either one is a good thing in a coach's eyes it shows self drive and commitment. Keep up the good work and keep training hard.

 

I started on varsity my soph thru senior year of high school and played against people my sophomore year like doug warren. The experience as a freshman would be invaluable. Though you may not play all the time, it's like the mls stars that move over to europe. You get that added pressure in practice to perform so that come game time you give the coach a difficult decision. My next door neighbor has been starting on his varsity team since freshman year and though he was more physically developed than you, his first year he needed to play smarter than ever before because he got roughed up a lot. Good luck to you and if you don't play a lot there is always club soccer.

 

I would say if you are invited to play varsity, definatly do so. Even if you dont play often you will gain a ton of experience, and will get used to the coach and the offense to get a better chance of starting as a sophmore

 

My freshman year..I'm now a Junior..I played on varsity..I'll never regrett it..made me a better player

 

same here...I didnt start as a freshman because we had two excellent senior forwards but i got my time in and practice helped me out a lot...practice got me to play more physical and a lot quicker

 

It all depends on your situation. How good is the varsity, how much playing time will you get. My son started most of the season with the varsity as a freshman and it was a good experience for him. He's a little bigger that you (about 5'8", 140) and he still had some strength issues playing against some 200 pound physical seniors.
The key though, is playing. If you're going to get enough time on the field and won't be intimidated, go for it.

 

I did not play soccer until my ninth grade year and I was so inexperienced. I ended up learning everything I could from all the seniors that were leaving. The next year I actually ended up starting and from there on out I played the entire game. Just show that u are dedicated to the sport and it will show your coach that they can put u in the game.

 

I say the sooner u get into the flow of how a varsity team works the better. if u play varsity as a freshman, next year when all ur friends come up from JV u will have the edge on them. furthermore, dont be intemidated. that was my biggest problem when i was a freshman, i was a littleboy and our seniors were men. but i learned at the very end of ,y freshman year that if ur not scared of the older players, ur ability goes so much farther, once ur ability goes farther, ur PT will skyrocket. thus, dont be affraid of varsity, go at it headstrong, and say to urself that ur gunna go out their and do it. that's the difference btwn a good ploayer and bad. confidence.

so sack up and get on varsity

 

as a high school coach i'll give you my 2 cents worth. first, you have to make the team. if you make the varsity team you'll benefit more from the practices with the skilled players than you will with the less skilled team (even in game situations). if you feel that you are suffering then talk to your coach. if your coach is worth anything, he/she will listen to you and guide you to what is best for you. i've had situations where i let J.V. players practice with the varsity team through the whole year but split time between the two teams, depending on the team we are playing against. basically, there are a ton of options, all of which your coach should be explaining to you if you approach him. good luck

 

exactly. Im an asst at a highschool and can tell you from being in your position when i was younger and dealing with players i that same one. A good coach will never put you in over your head. If he is confident that you will be able to handle the physicality of highschool ball than youll be in. If you play big time club soccer then that could help with the pace and youll be further ahead than most uppeclassmen as high school tends to be a bit rougher and less skilled.

You need to earn the respect of upperclassmen, first, as this was my biggest challenge back in HS. i was better than 75 percent of my team as a freshman at a succesful HS but they didnt care until i earned theyre respect

 

Did u really play varsity soccer in your first year playing? That's awesome! I'm going to be a junior next year and have not played soccer since 5th grade but I wanted to try out for the team. How hard was it tomake your school's squad? Did you practice a lot before going out?

 

In other words, the size of the typical U.S. national midfielder.

In other words, bigger than the U.S. national defenders.