Just curious what people think. What is a better experience in terms of building skills, starting on varsity for four years at a good public high school or going the freshman team, JV route for two years at a Catholic school then two years varsity. Personally I can make a case for each but just wanted to hear what others thought.
In my opinion it is beneficial for underclassman to play on Varsity IF they are good enough to start. Way to many schools move 9th and 10th graders to Varsity and they rarely if ever see the field. Practicing against the second and third varsity lines isn't as valuable in most programs as playing high school JV games and contributing to a team.
How do you handle this issue with a coach that wants your son on Varsity as a 9th grader and doesn't play him all that much? I would rather him be killing it on JV. He would most certainly be starting every game. I feel like him being on Varsity is a waste of time. However, I don't want to tick off the coach.
I know some of the private schools in CT will have the boys practice with varsity, suit up and not play the varsity game, but then have them play the JV game. I like this approach. My sense is the benefits of starting and playing on JV are valuable. Chaminade and St. Anthony are consistently strong and have deep rosters because of this system.
Don't believe NYS Sections will let you do that. CHSAA maybe, I don't know.
