JV OR Vasity

Very common and a move I agree with if you were not going to get many innings on varsity. I would think you should trust him.

Keep trying to improve everyday and ask what you need to do to be on varsity. Then do what he says.

Accept it as the truth! Are you going to get better playing half the time on varsity or getting every day playing experience on JV? I think by playing every day.

Very common approach and a sound one. Why would you not trust the coach? Why would he not want what is best for you which ultimately will be best for the team? I have always said when the day comes that no one regardless of talent is good enough to play varsity for us untill they are a Junior then we will be where we want to be as a program. Im sure there are programs where you could be a regular on a varsity team. But dont worry about varsity or jv. Go out and do your thing and work hard and your time will come. Good Luck

No one will think worse of you for having played JV as a sophomore. A lot of times the question of whether a soph makes varsity or not depends less on him and his development to date, and more on who the school has at his position in the upper classes. If you're stuck behind someone at your position, why not play on JV and improve, instead of sitting on the bench on varsity stewing?

Sometimes the upperclassman may not even be as good as you, but the program may want to reward him for being a good team player by giving him his chance to shine as a senior. I have seen seniors who are not as good as some underclassmen get to play and end up playing in college because of it. Maybe they're D-3 caliber and you're D-1, but if so, don't worry, you'll get your chance, and you'll get your chance in plenty of time to catch someone's eye.

In the meantime, find yourself a good summer team!

Dear Oriole21
My son was a sophomore last year that went through the last cuts for varsity.Varsity kept 12 seniors,3 juniors and 2 sophomores-the school never has freshman on varsity.Some of those upper classman were not as good as he was but that is how team is coached. My son was very unhappy. I told my son that by playing on JV he could have a leadership role,play more innings and hit in the four hole.The JV team plays a tough schedule and he and another sophomore player were the team leaders in hitting and fielding.The other kid is a better player than my son but hockey is his sport(Harvard had commited verbally to him for hockey and probably will get drafted by the pros).

Both boys are performing well during tryouts and hopefully they both make the varsity team and get major playing time. I know talking to the parents of the sophomores that made varsity last year they did not get much playing time and wish their sons were on JV.

Last year my son made the varsity as a soph. He was a starter early and due to circumstances beyond his control, he was removed from the regular lineup after about 8 games. He was given the choice to go down to F/S and play everday and be the #1 starter. He went down and did very well and was called backup before the end of the season and even started a playoff game.

On the other end. Another soph. had the same choice and he decided to stay up on varsity. He rode the pine all year. This year he is still on the bench and I cannot help but think his decision last year to not play hurt him this year. He was passed up by kids that played F/S last year.

oriole21,
I was told the same thing this year by my coach and he said the only reason I was not on the varsity lineup was because our star player was playing the same position as me, however I was hitting .350 with 2 doubles and had 9 scoreless innings with 15 Ks and our coach just pulled me up yesteday and I was told I am going to be the number 2 guy in the rotation now and when our #1 guy is pitching I will play in the field also, so my coach was telling the truth and yours probably is also

thank you everyone this was a big help.

He is probably doing whats best for you.Your coach wants you to get everyday experience vs playing little to no time at varsity

See this as motivation to be called up full time next year,not as you werent good enough.Keep working and good luck!

I agree with everyone here, but Midlo Dad, you made the comment that sometimes a coach just wants to reward a senior. IMHO, if a soph is as good or better of a talent than the senior, I'd play the soph, for two reasons: 1) To develop the soph against better talent, and 2) It's the senior's responsibility as a player to ensure he's a better talent by the time he's a senior.

is it still ok to attend showcases if you are on j.v as freshman...i know in some circumstances you could be better then alot of kids that are at the showcases that are your age but they are on varsity at there school....what do yall think?

pedro11791,

Absolutely! My son attended a Pac-10 showcase in January (he's a LHP sophomore) and he's already garnered interest. But he's on the JV for a 4a school (lots of good pitchers). Compare that to my friend's kid who is a varsity soph pitcher on a "B" school. He's good, but not better than my son. These two kids play many tournaments together and their talent level is similar.

Which track is better? I'm not sure, but I'm happy my son is at a 4a school. Don't worry about "varsity" or "JV" as far as showcases go. If you're talented, you'll shine.

If you're a freshman, what you're establishing is a "base" by which a lot of scouts can track your progress in coming years. If you're looking to get instant interest though, I doubt that'll happen.

thanx alot bum....im still deciding on where to go to high school....but...i really want to attend many showcases in my upcoming year...after my freshman season...just so i get seen early and known ealry and just see on what to expect in my upcomming years thanx alot