What Makes a Varsity Athlete?

Every year, students across the nation flock to tryouts for their high school’s sports teams. They gather on courts, fields, tracks, and gyms as they anxiously await results with one shared question:

“Who made varsity?”

For many years, the answer was simple: It was always the upperclassman, those wrapping up their high school sports experience. They deserved it. However, in more recent years, freshman and sophomore students have been working their way up to varsity teams across the country. Varsity teams are the exemplar of high school athletics, but what sets varsity players apart from their peers? As times change and seniority is no longer the ultimate metric for a varsity athlete, a new question is posed: What exactly does it take to be a varsity-level athlete?

The base expectation of a varsity athlete is to show up and play well, according to Eastside Catholic’s head football coach, Dominic Daste.

Credit: Lakeside High School

“We make it abundantly clear to our guys that our goal is to win a state championship, and so if we want to play 14 games, we have to prepare for it,” stated Daste. Not only does the varsity team practice daily during game season and hold team workouts in the offseason, but many players choose to put time in outside practices and games, and that is a huge factor in the jump between JV and varsity.  Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn’t always take endless hours a day to play your best, it’s the quality of consistent work that matters. Daste wants his team to be balanced athletes, students, and people.

“What we communicate to our football players is, for example, watching a film, if you take 20, 25 minutes of watching film and you were extremely focused on that piece, then you’ll get a lot out of it as opposed to sitting there watching it for an hour and being distracted.

Credit: Eastside Catholic School

And so much like studying for a math test or whatever it may be if it’s quality time, and you’re not distracted. And you’re completely focused on it, you’ll get more out of that then it’s quality over quantity,”

Grueling training and daily practices aren’t always easy, mentally, or physically. Being a varsity athlete requires a niche mentality. According to the NFHS, high school athletes training over seven hours a week require effort to maintain a healthy mental state. A varsity athlete should receive between 7-9 hours of sleep nightly as well as large amounts of protein and carbs. While these factors directly impact one’s physical health, they also greatly improve mental health. To perform well on the court or field, a varsity athlete must maintain adequate mental and physical health.

“You can push through like a physical pain, and you know your body in terms of limitations, but in terms of pushing yourself farther than you think you can go is something you have to train to do,” states Daste.

The majority of coaches truly want the best for their players, and there are guidelines in place to ensure no player is pushed too hard. However, when a player makes the step up from JV to varsity, they should be prepared to encounter a new level of training. A team can’t grow unless every member puts in the work, even in individual sports such as swimming or gymnastics, each team member’s personal score reflects on the team. Therefore, every player must be prepared to push through mental blocks and personal struggles for the benefit of the team.

Not only do varsity athletes have to sustain a positive mindset, they also must have the intelligence to pick up on plays, game plans, and routines both quickly and effectively. This is a striking quality that catches a coach’s eye and can make or break a team. But it’s all down to intelligence; it’s how that intelligence is applied.

“Work ethic, do they come in in shape and ready to work, their attitude all matter but a big piece (for us) is how fast or how well you pick things up, we are a little complicated in terms of our scheme and what we teach and so I think sometimes that’s even harder than the technique or physical aspect of the game,” shared Daste.

Credit: O’Dea High School

At the end of the day, the grade level component still effects who makes the team. Upperclassmen who have proved their determination, loyalty, and commitment to the team will likely advance to varsity as their hard work pays off.

Daste continued, “If someone stays in our program all four years it’s rare that they aren’t a part of our depth and an intricate part of what we do,” With that being said, coaches are constantly looking for players with the energy and gifts to compliment the team.

To make room for incoming athletes, many schools continue to expand and implement JVC teams, also commonly known as Freshman teams, for popular sports. However, there are outliers. It’s not entirely uncommon to see freshman on JV even at a school that has a JVC team, and the occasional freshman will be asked to begin their first high school season as a varsity athlete. Even though grade level and honor are valued in the sports world, so are talent, mindset, and work ethic. When an underclassman who exhibits the right qualities tries out, odds are they will make varsity, especially at a smaller school.

This year, as student athletes show up to tryouts, standing on courts, fields, tracks, and gyms, may they remember varsity isn’t easy. It takes work ethic, mental toughness, intelligence, and dedication to make the team.

May they all try their best to exhibit those qualities as they work to achieve the status of a varsity letter and remember that at the end of the day, the coaches will choose the best players to play.

Featured Image Credit: Skyline High School