I understand that the Shen District has approved for 10th graders to play JV against 8th graders . This is not looking out for the welfare of the kids ! My grandson is in the 8th grade and he and I agree its unfair to have 16 year old young men man handle 13 year olds . Should he be hurt in one of these contest I will own Augusta County Schools ! Please voice your opinion .
Shen.Dist to allow 10 Graders to smash 8th Graders
- Thread starter Xcross
- Start date
Around here, 10th graders have been allowed to play JV for as long as I can remember.
What's your thoughts on a senior(18 yr old) smashing as you say a freshman(15 yrs old)?
Is this just because it's YOUR grandson? I understand the concern but seniors and freshmen are far worse IMO
Is this just because it's YOUR grandson? I understand the concern but seniors and freshmen are far worse IMO
30 years ago, some 10th graders would come down late in season that were not getting to play any on the varsity team. Valley district allowed 10th graders on JV a few years ago, Fort would have some when gap played them. This may be the result of low turnout. Could be that the only way some teams may enough players to have a JV team is with some 10th graders. 8th graders can still play little league if they are small enough. I am not sure how I feel about it. Toss a coin.
Not many little freshman see the field until garbage time . Between 13 and 16 when most boys have a growing spert . The Shen. Dist. needs to keep it as it was . I hope they won't this happen , if it does they are making a Big Mistake .
I think some responsibility falls on parents. If one has a young 8th grader that hasn't physically and emotionally matured enough for jv football, that's ok. Try a different high school sport for the fall season and play "little league" football on the weekends. But I think for undersized & underskilled 10th graders it's important for them to be able to play j.v. and get some experience and playing time so they can contribute as 11th graders.
Yes, out here in NND and Tidewater District land 10th graders have played JV since some time in the 80s
Hope your grandson stays safe but if he is worried about getting hurt maybe he shouldn't play...kids are just a year or two older than him
Nobody is being forced to play, the 10th graders playing on JVs arent going to be 1st string players from the varsity. If your concerned about his safety have him play golf or wait until he is a freshman or sophomore to play football.
I am now hearing that 10th graders are being pushed to stay JV and that varsity should just be 11th and 12th graders except for exceptional 10th graders. Must be some safety BS being pushed from the state or something. Wow and to think one of Riverheads players last year was a freshman. I wonder if the district will even allow a freshman to play varsity this year?
I have always assumed that the rules should be pretty simple in all high school sports........8th graders should play on an 8th grade team if there was one but if they were too good for that or there was none, then they could play JV; if a 9th grader was an average to good player, he belonged on JV but if he was exceptional he might make varsity; if a 10th grader was average or better, he was considered varsity material but if he needed more time to develop and might get more playing time then he might stay down on JV; and of course juniors and seniors had to play varsity.
To summarize all of that, I thought those 50/50 decisions were made based on a kid's ability and on what would be best for him and/or the team. There are huge gaps in development and you cannot lump all kids into the same mold. I have seen 14 year olds that could buy beer without being carded and I have seen seniors that looked like they still belonged in middle school.
I have also seen cases in which a freshman was placed on varsity too soon and not given enough playing time to make it the smart decision. In those cases that kid's freshman year was wasted. But I guess that is kind of off topic.
To summarize all of that, I thought those 50/50 decisions were made based on a kid's ability and on what would be best for him and/or the team. There are huge gaps in development and you cannot lump all kids into the same mold. I have seen 14 year olds that could buy beer without being carded and I have seen seniors that looked like they still belonged in middle school.
I have also seen cases in which a freshman was placed on varsity too soon and not given enough playing time to make it the smart decision. In those cases that kid's freshman year was wasted. But I guess that is kind of off topic.
8th graders have been playing on JV in many of the smaller schools for a long time. What’s wild is 11th graders being permitted to play JV at some of these larger schools. Anybody genuinely scared of 8th vs 10th (aka not Xcross) is really reaching. I don’t think 8th vs 11th is wise in a JV setting, but again, the size of school seems to play a lot into the 8th and 11th JV opportunities. It’s usually one or the other in my experience.
This decision should have been made last year not the week practice started . Riverheads and Gap both 1A . Look at Riverheads schedule , other than Gap they play up all season 2A, 3A . Some have like 1200 kids to pick from . 200 lb player vs 125 . Its not a safe situation . Unless you have had a personal and emotional experience with someone injured playing the game then its hard to understand how I feel .
Now I think I get what you are saying. While Riverheads varsity team is huge, the JV team may not be. Playing LB with 8th graders against their 10th graders is dangerous.
This comes down to coaches making sure that they are not putting kids in dangerous situations. I would hope that most JV coaches wouldn't put a kid out there unless they could defend themselves. I've seen some 8th grade kids on middle school teams that looked like grown men who drove the team bus to the game. Didn't seem safe for them to be going against 6th graders. No easy answers so that's why coaches need to use common sense.
So if a JV team has a 6', 195-200lb 8th grader who has been in the weight room, would you also think that he should not be able to play because he is bigger and stronger than your 8th grader?
This is nothing new throughout the state, from small schools up to large schools. At most schools, especially in the Shenandoah, if you are a bigger or talented 10th grader, you are going to be playing varsity and not JV. Also need to keep in mind that some 10th graders are not even 15 yet or barely 15 by the time football season rolls around, so then if you force them to play up, they could be 14-15 year old's going up against 17-18 year old's.
This is nothing new throughout the state, from small schools up to large schools. At most schools, especially in the Shenandoah, if you are a bigger or talented 10th grader, you are going to be playing varsity and not JV. Also need to keep in mind that some 10th graders are not even 15 yet or barely 15 by the time football season rolls around, so then if you force them to play up, they could be 14-15 year old's going up against 17-18 year old's.
If your in 10th grade and playing quarters in JV, I am sure you have nothing to worry about. This is an opportunity for a 10th grader to get some playing time. You cannot play many quarters on both squads so I am positive that most teams would keep the kids on the varsity level that have the ability to play at that level. Not all 9th graders are the same. When a kid matures and develops varies greatly from kid to kid.
