The Final Whistle: Building from the bottom

Tonia Witt

In a small town, a high school sports program doesn’t begin when an athlete walks through the doors as a freshman.

It begins years before that.

It begins on recreation league fields and courts, where kids learn to dribble, throw, catch, pass, swing and, most importantly, be part of a team. It continues through middle school, where the game gets faster, expectations get higher and athletes begin to understand what it means to represent their school and community.

Eventually, those kids become the athletes we pack the stands to watch on Friday nights.

That’s why strong high school programs aren’t built overnight.

They’re built from the bottom up.

Youth programs matter. Middle school programs matter. Freshman teams matter. JV matters.

Every rung on the ladder matters because you can’t expect athletes to reach the top if you remove the steps that get them there.

In a small community, development becomes even more important. We don’t always have an endless supply of athletes waiting for their opportunity. Some classes are loaded with talent. Others may be smaller or need more time to develop.

That means development isn’t optional. It’s essential.

Middle school programs should help prepare athletes for what they’ll encounter in high school. Winning is fun and competition matters, but development has to be part of the bigger picture.

Athletes need fundamentals. They need coaching. They need opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them. They need to begin understanding the expectations and culture of the program they may eventually represent at the high school level.

Then comes another important step: freshman and JV competition.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve allowed those words to occasionally feel like a demotion.

An athlete dresses varsity one night and is asked to play JV the next, and the reaction can become, “Why do I have to play JV?”

Maybe we need to change the question. “How many opportunities am I getting to become better?”

There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing JV or freshman ball. And getting varsity minutes doesn’t mean a young athlete has graduated beyond needing developmental reps.

A basketball player might sit most of a varsity game but get four quarters of JV. A football player might get a handful of Friday night snaps and then meaningful JV reps. The same is true in soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball and nearly every other sport.

Those opportunities aren’t punishment. Development isn’t punishment. It’s investment. There is no substitute for playing.

Practice matters. Watching older athletes matters. Being around varsity competition matters. But young athletes also need to compete.

They need to make the pass with someone defending them. Take the shot with the game on the line. Make the tackle. Serve under pressure. Turn the double play. Stand at the plate with runners in scoring position.

They need reps.

Maybe we need to change the language surrounding those opportunities, too.

Instead of, “You have to play JV tonight,” maybe it becomes, “You get to play JV tonight.”

You get another game.

You get another chance to improve.

And that development shouldn’t begin in ninth grade.

The strongest programs create connections from youth sports through middle school and into high school. That doesn’t mean turning elementary sports into high-pressure varsity athletics. Kids still need to be kids. Youth sports should be fun and a place where children discover whether they love the game.

But fundamentals can still be taught. Good habits can still be formed. Relationships can still be built.

And perhaps most importantly, kids can be given time to develop.

Because not every great high school athlete was great at 10.

Some grow later. Some gain confidence later. Some simply need more repetitions before everything clicks.

Good programs don’t just find talent.

They develop it.

From youth leagues to middle school. From middle school to freshman and JV. From freshman and JV to varsity.

There should always be another step.

Because in a small town, you don’t build lasting athletic programs by focusing only on the athletes under the Friday night lights.

You make sure the path that gets them there is strong, too.