Does Lack of JV Affect Sport's Future

It seems more and more schools are not fielding JV teams. What effect will this have on the future of the sport?

I've seen some Varsity teams with 17 or more on their roster. Why not a JV? Schools with JV are struggling to find other schools with JV to play.

Will JV become a thing of the past? If so, is that good or bad?

 

Short answer is "yes". In general, the lack of JV will hurt the development of some of the girls. But lets look at this from the point of view of a player that does not play travel ball but enjoys the game. She knows she is going to be limited in seeing varsity time but being part of a team, wearing her school colors with pride, and having fun is really what she is wants to do. The JV team fits this to a T. So, not having a JV hurts this player. Now, let's look at this from the freshman pitcher on the same team. She may not be as far along in the process as the upperclassmen pitchers. She may not get the circle time to keep her learning process moving. A lot of the time adjusting to the umpire will be her biggest challenge. Both girls benefit from having a JV team. The pitchers get the most benefit from this but the same will hold true for the all the other fielders. This year, I have seen one program play a senior and several juniors on the JV team. The kids are having fun and the freshmen players that have potential are getting a chance to play.

The future of the sport is another question. As long as travel ball is as big as it is and travel ball players still want to play school ball, then the future of the sport will be okay. If there is no JV team, the parents of travel ball players playing school ball will have to do a LOT of expectation management, especially if the school ball coach does not communicate well.