Every year is different. Being on JV is not the same as being on the freshmen team. But I believe it could be.
I write this, and I don’t know how to write this. It was a hard season. Probably a harder season for us as parents than it was for Madison. Mostly, because she is a better person than us. I want this to be a true testament to the season for my future self to remember. But I also want it to reflect positively on Madison. So, maybe there will be two different perspectives. I’ll start with the hard and end with the good.
This summer, there were opportunities for the volleyball girls – open gyms, lifting sessions, summer league, and additional agility sessions. She loved agility training, enjoyed open gyms, and saw growth in what she could do at lifting. Summer league was another story. She went to this and all things any time she was available and poured her heart into it. The new JV coach, however, saw summer not as a chance to let the girls flourish, make mistakes, grow, develop, and bond, but as a time to win, find her favorites, and make her team. It is not what it is supposed to be – it is not required; it is not the season. So, Madison, along with 4 others, found that they sat out at summer league games. Then, they continued to sit – even at 2 different scrimmages – scrimmages that were each 3 hours long against various other schools – never once getting a chance to get in the game … at a scrimmage. Our minds were blown. Never have we been a part of programs where scrimmages were seen as a do or die situation. The season continued in the same manner. If the coach put in benchwarmers, it was in the last few points of the game and only one at a time, so they alternated random nights of play. It was the saddest thing I have ever been a part of.
It maybe would have made a tiny bit of sense if the players on the court were all-stars who didn’t make many mistakes, who looked like a well-oiled machine, and who looked like they were having fun. But none of those things were true. The girls playing were pretty much at the same skill level as those sitting the bench. Those playing made a TON of mistakes with no fear that they would ever come out – while those that hardly got in played thinking if they shanked the ball once meant they wouldn’t get in again. Those playing did not communicate or move cohesively as a team and they didn’t look like they were having fun most of the time. Not trying to tear them down, I am just saying there were some that could have been given a chance. Did they win? Yes. So, if that is the goal, great. But I think the goal of a JV team is to grow players for a varsity level team. That means you have no idea who is going to improve and who is at their peak. That you give kids playing time – not equal, but earned and deserved opportunities – to develop. That is what coaching is about, right? Taking each player and helping them grow – and rewarding them in the best possible way… as a part of a team on and off the court.
While Jeremy and I sat on the bleachers stewing and mumbling in disbelief as the gap in the score widen and no one got in, Madison and her crew stood up and cheered, high-fived the two subs that went in, and pressed on. There were only two games during the season where Madison showed disappointment/frustration with how things were going. And those were the two most difficult times.
On a positive note, Madison worked hard. She showed resilience in an obviously difficult situation. It was hard to see if she was making progress/getting better with the lack of court time. However, she would come back and tell us about her serves steadily improving – going farther and more consistently over the net. I could see her movement on the court was good, adjusting to block coverage and hitting coverage. When she was on the court, she picked up some nice digs, had some good passes to the setter, and played well overall.
While this season was not as we expected, we were so proud of our daughter. She never quit, never had a bad attitude, always encouraged, and worked hard. We hope she walked away from the season believing the best of herself and still enjoying volleyball. We love you to the moon and back!
