Skill or Seniority? The Varsity Dilemma.
By Jewel Mendiola
“Skill or seniority?” Is a very controversial idea between all students participating in varsity sports. Is it fair that seniority is placed over talent in some sports, or that a player’s skill should solely dictate their standings?
Countless seniors get cut from their beloved highschool sport that they’ve enjoyed since childhood. Why is that fair? All their blood, sweat, and tears of hard work gets put into just getting cut. Some people would rather be put on varsity for the title, but not play at all. Why don’t we make it so sports allow seniors to be on junior varsity and play? Some high school sports solely focus on the skill aspect of where they should be placed in their sport. For example, cross country is based solely on skill. No matter what grade you are in, your speed is what determines if you are on junior varsity or varsity. On the other hand, girls tennis and girls volleyball is determined by seniority-if you’re not good enough as a senior, you get cut. There is no option to be on JV. Which is better to some people at heart? Being cut and not being able to play at all, or be on JV? “I don’t think seniority should play a part. I think all sports should be based on skill and how you do at tryouts and not based on what grade you are in,” said senior tennis player Karina Morgan. While Morgan holds this belief, senior and varsity water polo player Hayden O’Hare had a very different take.
“I think being a senior on varsity should be mandatory as long as the person really likes to stick with it through all four years because they have a commitment to the team and I think that they should be rewarded based on that.” O’Hare feels that team building as an environment is important for seniors, even if they do not get much playtime. Since there are very contrasting opinions on this topic, many people take different sides and have backup to support their opinions. A big question is, why don’t sports come up with a compromise? Why can’t womens tennis and volleyball make it so seniors don’t have to get cut, and just put senior players on JV?
Skill
While skill is a crucial aspect to be competitive in sports all around the world, does it need to be the primary consideration for highschool sports? Not everyone that plays a highschool sport is trying to go to college for it, so does the label of varsity or junior varsity even matter in the long run? In a very different perspective, the people who are trying to go to college and get recruited through their highschool sport, might feel that only skill should determine varsity placement. Some students get put on JV because someone is playing the role through seniority, how is that fair to the underclassman? What if the person who got on varsity from seniority did not even care for the sport, or just joined that year?
“I think there should be a max number of seniors on the team because there should be an unlimited roster size,” said Morgan. While the varsity tennis player stated that, she also feels it is reasonable if seniors just get put on varsity on the sidelines, or get put on JV to play. O’Hare agrees that they should not just be cut in general.
While he does agree on the fact that seniority should play a part in all sports, he also believes that skill is extremely important, even necessary: “I think skill base definitely comes in to play when players really like our passion about the sport and they think that they should be playing at the high-level, but I also think that seniors should be on the varsity team because it helps them with teambuilding and it is a good skill to have and you don’t wanna be a JV team. I think that’s good because you should be able to develop your skills and work on getting better” he said. O’Hare stated that seniors should be on varsity because would it helps them improve, but what if they’re just stuck on the sidelines the whole time? Is it worth it for them to be stuck on the sidelines and gain a title, or would it be better to be on JV and have playtime?
Seniority
Seniority is a great concept that many sports take part in, but why do some choose to not participate? Countless people around all the high schools believe that skill should be the only factor that plays a part in determining varsity. The people who believe in skill, do have a point in the statement that some seniors just join sports because they know of seniority. Considering the fact that they just want the varsity title to show off. Seniority has many positives and negatives, but overall the varsity seniors who have been on for all 4 years, have decided that they do not take it personally with seniority. Seniors have been through all the trouble in high school already, so many athletes feel that seniority is deserved. Most of the sport coaches at Campolindo do not hold back athletes if they have better skill than certain seniors, they will make it so they get on varsity. Since some sports cut seniors off varsity, many people still believe that it is not fair. If there was a change to be made, it should be that seniors are unable to get cut overall, just to enjoy the sport they love. Varsity Football Player Tavish Wells described that in football everyone is together depending on their skill, and what class, considering the fact it provides better team bonding. Majority of the sports do team bonding events with varsity and jv, just to have a stronger team bond overall. That being said, no matter whether an athlete is on JV or varsity, the team building aspect can still be put into play.
Skill + Seniority
In the end, many athletes do get to participate in the sport they have loved since childhood, even with varsity and JV in play. Certain athletes who have dedicated themselves to their sport and get put on JV, are however disappointed, but it does not mean it is because of seniority. The coach could just see that there is potential that needs to be built off of, then could get moved to varsity mid-season. With all of the sports participating in a different way to determine varsity, no matter what everyone should get a fair chance at what they want. Being cut and not playing at all, should never be an option no matter what grade they are in. Sitting on the sidelines during the game, or getting no play time, still gets the benefit of priceless team bonding during the season.
