Godzilla, How is the Varsity team at your school? Our school is very similar to yours in that freshman and sophmores play JV and juniors and seniors play Varsity regardless of talent level. I have no idea why, both teams end up weak, and he could probably field a more competitive team if he were to do it differently. I have a freshman again, so we are about to start this all over. When my older son was a freshman he had hopes of making Varsity. The varsity team was coming off an 0-20 season. (we didnt know about his rule yet) He was put on JV and was obviously upset. He felt he should and could compete at the varsity level. He stuck it out and played the 1st 2 weeks of the season on JV. He did great. Jv ended up having a week off, but varsity was still playing and practicing. He asked the varsity coach if he could attend the varsity practices since he wanted to get some work in and JV was off. He allowed him to attend and my son worked his butt off. The varsity team was struggling so he gave him a shot. He pitched the next game and it was the 1st game they won. He has been a starter ever since. I finally had a chance to talk to the coach last year. He couldn't give my son enough compliments. He said he was actually shocked when he asked to attend practice as a freshman. Most kids are happy when they don't have practice. How could he say no. He said his work ethic and competitive drive have been contagious. He helps out other players, staying after practice to work on pitching, or throw extra pop ups or grounders, and more kids care because he cares so much. That he was a great teammate, a leader, and a great role model for other kids, and most importantly he never makes anyone feel like they are not good enough. (which as a mom you always want to hear that you a raising a good person) This team, although probably not going to win a championship, has improved so much that they were a game short of making playoffs for the 1st time in 17 years last year. I'm not going to lie, so of these game have been tough to watch, and my son is a pitcher so of course some nights he has come home frustrated. I'm never going to tell anyone what the best thing to do is, but this was our experience and I think he learned a lot from it and shaped him into who he is today. Personally I don't like my kids to quit anything. I always like them to stick things out and see what good they can make of a situation. You never know, your son could get moved up shortly after the season starts. My son always had his summer team that was really good. He always had private lessons and workouts that he did on his own so I don't think the few months of school ball harmed him in any way. By the way, his college coach did call the HS coach and only asked about him as a person and a teammate. Good luck with your decision.