It was Wednesday, September 14. I was sitting in the first period, listening to the announcements, and patiently waiting for them to mention the junior varsity volleyball team win from the previous day. Varsity lost to Burrell with a close score of 3-2, while JV won 2-1.

The varsity’s hard-fought and unfortunate loss was announced, but then they moved on to the next topic. No mention of junior varsity. No mention that junior varsity won.

Junior varsity is a highly underrated topic of discussion in most high schools. Every morning on the announcements, we celebrate the wins or the losses of all varsity teams in Derry. However, junior varsity is only mentioned in the hallways when approached or asked.

Sports that have junior varsity and varsity teams are always split up, but the same rules apply to both teams. They both play the same sport. They’re both members of the same team.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re JV or Varsity, at some point, at any given meet, you could be the reason why the team wins,” says Track and Field coach Mr. Curcio. “I feel like in sports that have a distinct separation between the two – the same sentiment applies, just in different contexts.”

It doesn’t matter what team you play on, either way, you are still going to make a difference for that team.

“JV is just as important as varsity,” says girls’ volleyball coach Mr. Smith. “The girls on JV play to get better for Varsity.”

If JV is just as important as these coaches are saying it is, then why don’t schools pay more attention to the Jv teams? Maybe it’s a culture thing. Maybe it’s a lack of communication. Either way, the first way to change perception and culture is by starting somewhere. The least that we could do is announce the wins and losses for junior varsity along with varsity and go from there.

When you plan on going to a Derry Area sporting event, support JV with the same enthusiasm and team spirit as if it were varsity. It makes a difference because, at the end of the game or match when the final scores are official, JV matters too.