At Mid-Pacific, students have a deep passion for soccer, but find themselves in a tough spot. While the school offers a varsity team for experienced and exceptionally skilled players, there is no Junior Varsity (JV) soccer team, leaving many players upset and excluded from playing the sport they are passionate about.

With the upcoming soccer season, players are anxious to find out what team they’ve made. Some are over the moon about earning a spot on the varsity team. Others are disappointed when placed in Intermediate.

“I honestly don’t know why we don’t have a JV team,” Varsity soccer player Lacey Angrand said.

Many players would love to have a JV girls’ soccer team because it would be a great experience to bond with freshman players and it would give more time for less experienced players to play.

“I think having a JV team would help the freshmen and sophomores develop a little more before they face other schools who have varsity teams primarily comprised of Juniors and Seniors,” Varsity Coach Elaina Paredes said

Being a freshman on Varsity is hard itself, but it’s especially harder to make closer bonds with teammates in a different grade.

“Most of the girls are very nice but some it’s harder to make connections with because they’re way older than us,” Varsity player Lacey Angrand said.

Without a JV team, players are forced to play in Varsity with no playing time – or compete in Intermediate, which some find embarrassing.

“Most of the freshman players don’t have a starting spot on the team because the coaches put the seniors on,” Angrand said.

Many players fight for a starting spot, but senior players who have been on the
teams longer fill those positions, leaving underclassmen benched without play time.

“It’s harder to get a starting spot because seniors are the most experienced and it’s their last year at Mid-Pac,” according to Angrand.

Creating a JV team is not something that’s easy or taken lightly. For there to be a JV team, Mid-Pacific will need several things, including enough funding for the team and a coach to lead practice and games.

Despite these challenges, many players have argued that the absence of a JV team is a missed opportunity.

“Younger players who are not as experienced hardly get any game time. If there were a JV squad, younger players would be able to experience more actual game play because they don’t have to compete against Juniors and Seniors for a position,” Varsity coach Elaina Paredes said.