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Should I let the coach
promote
my 9th grader to
varsity?
©2006 oldschoolsportsparenting.com Here’s the situation: Your 9th Grade son is physically and athletically mature, and the head varsity coach wants to move him up from the freshman team to JV and possibly varsity. Should you let him? In general, I favor having a kid play against better competition if he has the right opportunity. You don’t improve by playing people you can easily and consistently beat. But there are many other factors to consider before you take this leap. Having been in the situation with my own son, I’ll lay out the various questions my wife and I wrestled with. Hopefully they’ll give you more to think about. Is he physically mature enough? In physical sports like wrestling, football and ice hockey, kids who haven’t hit puberty should not compete with kids who have. Their bodies simply aren’t properly "hardened," yet. It’s highly unlikely that a varsity coach would even suggest moving a prepubescent youngster to a higher level. But just in case he does, you need to put a halt to it immediately, if your youngster is clearly not developed enough. Physical maturity needn’t be quite as big an issue with non-physical sports like golf, tennis, track and perhaps even baseball. It’s still important, of course -- but more for the social and emotional value of not looking like a child among adults. Is he socially and emotionally mature enough? Teams are social organizations. If your youngster is going to leave a comfortable, familiar team to join a new one, he’s going to face more than just athletic challenges. He’s going to have to fit in, socially, too. That’s tough under any circumstances. But it’s especially difficult when his new teammates are older, more mature, and more likely to see your youngster as some hotshot phenom with talents and abilities far beyond those of mere mortals like themselves. It’s a little easier if the subjects are boys, because boys are quicker to accept a younger kid who proves he’s up to the fight. If your son quickly establishes himself as a superior player and competitor who can help the team win, then his list of "enemies" will shrink quickly down to the guy he beat out and maybe one or two of that kid’s closest friends. Girls? Not so much. It’s not that they won’t recognize and value superior talent and competitiveness. It’s just that they’re more likely to resent the newcomer if she infringes on their social circle. Will he play regularly? This is a trick question. Old school sports people know better than to expect guarantees of playing time. But you do have a right to expect your kid to get a fair chance to compete for playing time if a coach moves him up to a higher level of competition. I saw a high school sophomore basketball player get "promoted" to varsity and sit on the bench for the entire year, without even stepping foot in a JV game. The kid saw just a few minutes of varsity court time during the entire basketball season. The head coach told his parents that the boy gained valuable experience just being on the varsity bench, even if he wasn’t playing. (Uhh, no, he didn’t, coach.) Will he at least get to play on the junior varsity? He may only get limited varsity playing time, but he should be allowed to play in JV games, if they exist. Otherwise, his "promotion" was more of a punishment. Remember, the youngster would have clearly been a starter on his original (younger) team. If the coach removes him from that situation, he has an obligation to plug him into an opportunity, not to exile him. Will he get coached? It’s common for varsity coaches to hold younger players to lower expectations, or even to be less attentive to them. Plus, depending on the sport, in-season practices can be light on true skill instruction, in the first place. Varsity coaches often need to spend the majority of in-season practice time on team activities and game strategies. Together, those two issues can slow a young player’s development. Make sure your youngster will get at least the same amount of individual attention and instruction as other varsity players at his position. Will he get coached well? There's no guarantee that varsity coaches are the most skilled coaches on a high school staff. Sometimes they’re just the ones that have the most time to devote to coaching. Or the highest ambitions. Attend a few practices and watch the staff in action. Do they teach and motivate, or do they simply put kids through drills? Are the coaches and kids engaged for the majority of time, or is there a lot of standing around? Kids learn by doing. Drills should be dynamic, active exercises. If a coach spends 10 minutes talking during a 15-minute drill, chances are the kids have learned very little. What are the coach’s motives? Is he moving your kid up to help him grow as an athlete? Or is he doing it because he doesn’t have enough talented varsity players at your kid’s position? There’s nothing wrong with a coach needing to strengthen his depth chart. But if that’s the first argument he makes for moving your son up, it’s not a good sign. It tells me he’s looking out for his own best interests, first. His argument should emphasize that your son will benefit from competing against bigger, better players, and that he’ll get the benefit of varsity coaching (which may or may not be an actual benefit). Filling a depleted varsity position spot should be secondary. Let him change the position of an existing varsity player, if all he wants to do is strengthen his depth chart. How can you get a feel for his motives? Well, if the varsity coach says something like, "Charlie has a chance to start, because we don’t have any other fullbacks," he’s trying to fill a roster spot. If his argument sounds more like, "Charlie is physically and athletically gifted and really should compete against older kids if he’s going to improve as a fullback," he’s at least showing equal concern for your child’s athletic development. Can the decision be changed or is it irrevocable? In some states and sports, once a 9th Grader has played in a JV or varsity game, he can no longer play against freshman. Check out your state’s (and sport’s) regulations beforehand, so you know what you’re getting into. If you have doubts, hold him back. Home Feedback |