Having a JV team always good?

[GA42sDad]

I guess this topic could have many different kinds of views. Let me share my question i have to get some different points of view.
This is my second year coaching for a local high school team. The head coach and I took over the program last year. The program is one that was way down and has been very tuff in the past to have any kind of competetive team. Last year when we began we wanted to get the word out that we were attempting to try an rebuild the program. Of the nucleus of the team that was coming back was at least 2/3 seniors. The rest was a mixture of the rest of the different classes.

Last year we were able to have a varsity and a jv team. The jv team after it turned out was a team that had only 4 players that had ever played organized softball. You can imagine what that was like for me. We ended up winning 5 games where the varsity only won 3 games.

My question is can a program hurt itself by sometimes taking those that could possibly play on varsity( like under classman),and putting them on a jv just to have two teams.
We had about three girls that could have played on the varsity last year, which i think took away from any competion from our senior class. Which may have made them work harder in practices and games.
Hope this makes sense, and would love any input.

 

[joemcq51]

I used to coach a high school program. We did have a JV program. It was good for our younger pitchers to get experience. The reality was that the top 1 or 2 players on JV could start for Varsity somewhere. What we did was make sure the JV season ended at least two weeks before the post season began for Varsity. We would pull up the players we needed and use them in our playoff run. Helped develop young players and give some marginal older players extra at bats during the season. Win/win if you ask me.

 

[sluggers]

First, the goal of a JV team is develop players, not win games. Everything is for player development.

If you are going to build a good program, you need a JV team. If you have a roster of 15 girls on varsity, then the non-starters start on the JV team. You then find 5 or 6 girls who aren't good enough for varsity to fill out the JV roster.

The JV roster is fluid. You move the girls up and down between the varsity and the JV teams as their performance merits.

 

[SBFAMILY]

After being involved in our high school for 14 years I agree 100% with sluggers post. How and coach high school and travel ball is very different and both have different goals.

 

[Carty]

I also agree with Sluggers. Build enthusiam for playing softball, teach them how to play properly. When you put those things together, the wins will come. It is hard to get beat, but the girls who hardly played at all now have played a year more. If they were on varsity, they wouldnt have played a game and may not be there this year. We have a Frosh/Soph and Varsity team. I would like to have the JV class so my players that woudn't start on varsity, would play on JV.

 

[GA42sDad]

Thanks for the input. Although it sounds that i am against a jv team, i'm not. It is that our varsity was a group of girls that had been together the past few seasons, and was contingent on doing it their way. Which in the past didn't help them be competitive. I agree it's not about wins and loses, but about putting yourself in the best position to be competitive. I which I believe that most coaches will agree, love competition. With the few we had on jv that was able to play varsity, i believe hurt the competition that was needed to help our varsity. Just one coach's opinion.

 

[SnocatzDad]

Thanks for the input. Although it sounds that i am against a jv team, i'm not. It is that our varsity was a group of girls that had been together the past few seasons, and was contingent on doing it their way. Which in the past didn't help them be competitive. I agree it's not about wins and loses, but about putting yourself in the best position to be competitive. I which I believe that most coaches will agree, love competition. With the few we had on jv that was able to play varsity, i believe hurt the competition that was needed to help our varsity. Just one coach's opinion.

There is a difference between having a JV team to develop future Varsity players and having a JV team because you're reluctant to bench or cut seniors who aren't the best players available for Varsity in favor of underclassmen. You should still have a JV team if at all possible to fill in for the players who will graduate this year who are contributors, but allowing "a group" to stay together(or not) should be your decision based on talent, coachability and team fit. The one excepetion I might make on fielding the most competitive Varsity team would be if your #2 pitcher is an underclassmen, is definitely not your #1 pitcher, could be a contributor somewhere else on the field for Varsity. I might in the situation have that kid pitch JV rather than play another position on Varsity dependent on the skill gap between her and the next best option. Pitchers need to pitch to get better. Even in that case I'd try to get that pitcher to do both (pitch JV and play other position Varsity) as much as possible.