The lounges are always filled with friendly banter about which SIS varsity team is the best. Star individual athletes are often evaluated on playing-time, achievement, and position. But with all the conversations centered around varsity players, the seemingly shallow presence of the JV player is shrouded; it is even harder to notice the disheartened JV bench player.
For most students, sports are defined by scoreboards and highlight stories. While many athletes remember their sports career centered around the number of games won and awards received, for JV bench players, the experience is measured in minutes waited, names not called, and jerseys that stay zipped on the sideline.
“Being a JV bench player means mastering patience,” Carson Park (12), former JV golf bench player, said. “It means cheering louder than anyone else while knowing you may not step onto the court or field. It means learning every play not because you will execute it, but because you might be needed for the next game or the next season.”
Though this is the reality for all JV players, there is a special yet quiet pressure that comes with sitting out, even as a JV player. Friends ask how much one played. Social media posts are filled with game-winning moments that they watched from a few feet away. Even when the Tiger Sports Council tags a JV sports clip, benchwarmers are rarely featured.
As a JV player, it is very easy to feel as if you are not an integral part of the SIS athletic community. Many of these athletes may feel underappreciated in an environment that highlights performance. For many JV bench players, the hardest opponent isn’t the other team—it is self-doubt. But there is also growth hidden in the margins.
“I have noticed that in some cases, it is the developmental players that have the vigor and drive during practices,” Yool Choi (12), former varsity soccer developmental player, said. “They are still a part of the team despite having different roles and different goals. Though they are not aiming to be the MVP of the season for the athlete of the year, they, too, hope to be there someday, one step at a time.”
The next time we debate which varsity team dominates SIS, it is worth remembering the players whose names aren’t announced over the loudspeaker. The JV bench player, the fourth man down, may not always get minutes, but they carry something just as important: commitment without applause. In a school culture driven by achievement, that quiet dedication deserves recognition, too.
