Athletes are hard working individuals, striving to make the best of themselves and, most importantly, the team. They do not have to be on the starting Varsity lineup to be considered a great player. A scout player can be an athlete who tries to replicate the other team’s players to prepare the team for the upcoming game. Each player helps improve the team whether they are a scout player or starting on the Varsity team. The difference between the two is that some get all the credit, while the others players are left in the dark.

Unlike Varsity players, JV players and teams receive minimum recognition and credit for the hard work and effort they put into the season. They are pushed to the side while the Varsity teams are the stars of the school. While hiding in the shadows, some of the Sequoit JV teams have been achieving great amounts of success. Although not being the stars of the Varsity show, it has not stopped them from trying to be the best.

One team that was quietly dominating their conference was the Antioch Sequoit JV football team; they had an outstanding season, finishing 8-1, but few heard about their season’s success.

“I feel like we had a great season this past year, but I hate that no one shows up to watch our games,” junior Jaden Devaughn said. “For our only loss, we were missing a lot of key players because they got moved up to play on the Varsity team.”

Something that the JV players usually never get to experience, that the Varsity players do, is always having fans at their games. Minimal fans come to watch and support the team, which can bring the team’s confidence down. However, one thing JV players can experience with the rest of the team is Varsity playing time. In many of the games throughout the season, JV players would go in to play the rest of the Varsity games; thus, the JV players contributed to much of the Varsity team’s success.

When the season was coming to a close and playoffs were starting, many JV players had to step up to the challenge when their name was called to play at the Varsity level. In the last two playoff games of the season, the Sequoits had six JV players suit up and start on the Varsity lineup due to many injuries on the Varsity team. With the help of the JV players, the year Sequoit football team was of the best teams the school has seen in a long time.

Another successful team that is unheard of is the girl’s JV volleyball team. The girls had a dominating season, only falling short in a couple games. The girls success does not seem to matter though as they are pushed around to different practice locations, despite the fact that they work just as hard as the Varsity team.

“I don’t think we get as much credit as we deserve at all because we were sometimes pushed to the back of small gyms if we did not have enough practice space,” junior Breanna Kramer said.

The girls were being pushed around and had to deal with it. They cannot defend themselves either because they are considered, “just the JV team.” Even with all the success they were achieving as the season went on, they did not get any sympathy.

“It is definitely tough working in smaller space, but we kept our hopes high and kept practicing just as hard as the Varsity team,” Kramer said.

Even though not many people credited the team for their hard work, they kept pushing away all the obstacles they had to face, which led to them becoming one of the best girls JV volleyball teams in their regional.

Everyone has a role on the team that leads to the team’s success. JV players help the Varsity team be the best they can be, from playing scout to having to step up to play a starting spot. While most of the JV teams fly under the radar, getting little to no attention, the players and coaches know how much of a key role they play to the team.