How is a Varsity Practice Different than a JV Practice?

This week’s submission comes from Alec Lasley.  Alec is a Junior on the varsity basketball team this year, having played one season on both the Freshmen and JV. He is hoping to make the varsity golf team in Spring 2012.       

Making a varsity sport is a difficult task to accomplish, but if you do, it comes with a great sense of accomplishment and pride knowing you are representing your school. This is my first year playing varsity basketball and already, this early in the season, I have noticed many differences from JV.

Not only do you need basketball skills, you also need a strong mental attitude. Varsity practices are much more demanding and intense than JV practices. Once you step foot on the court you must be fully prepared to play and not focused on anything else. Also, there is a lot more you have to learn when playing on Varsity. There is a lot more strategy involved, both on defense and offense. Though the coaches provide most of the instruction, the upperclassmen help tremendously in guiding the younger, first year players through certain drills and principles.

Before my first varsity practice, I didn’t know what to expect. After the first couple minutes, I knew that these practices were going to take significantly more hard work than what was expected in the JV practices. One thing I had to adjust to immediately was the fast pace of the practice. We quickly move from one drill to another, whereas during JV practices we had some time off between drills. Not only do the coaches push every single player, but we as players push each other also.

One aspect of the varsity practice that I like a lot more than JV is the amount of time we have to scrimmage. Since we move so fast throughout practice we get more done, resulting in more time to play. This is where all the hard work we put into practice has to pay off. We must stay focused and utilize the principles we have been working so hard on throughout practice. If we don’t, then we receive a player’s favorite punishment, RUNNING! This keeps all the players concentrated and focused on the goal at hand. There is no room for error when playing a varsity sport.

With the season quickly approaching, we know there is much more work needed to accomplish our goal, “Win every part of every play.”  Go Mustangs!