The fall sports season has just concluded, officially ending the reign of women’s tennis, soccer, and volleyball for the year. However, during practices for the last couple of months, you may have seldom noticed a couple of middle school students dashing to practices across the fields, serving a volleyball, or hitting a tennis ball. Starting in 8th grade, students can participate in high school sports. commonly playing on Junior varsity (JV) or even varsity teams. Because playing a sport requires commitment and dedication, players must have impeccable time-management skills to deal with the difficulties of school along with busy schedules and practices that last nearly two hours a day. Practicing nearly every day except game day, the tennis players typically get home around 7:00 pm, still having to prepare for upcoming assessments and complete homework.
Eleanor K. joined the JV tennis team as an 8th grader this year and describes her time on the team as “an exhilarating and fun experience.” However, she also describes JV tennis as having ups and downs, saying “At times it can be stressful due to managing [her] homework on top of tennis, and [she] also stays up a lot later than [she] otherwise would.” Eleanor does not let that stop her, for she works hard in tennis and perseveres through rough times. She is described by one of her teammates as being “really good” moving forward to say how she is “first doubles in 8th grade.”
Emma S. joined the JV tennis team in 8th grade along with Eleanor. Emma seems unbothered by the fact that she is one of the youngest players on the team saying “[she] does not think about being one of the youngest on the team while playing.” She agrees with Eleanor saying “It’s really hard to manage [her] time getting home so late.” Along with all this stress she says “[she] likes it and it is really fun.” Emma loves playing tennis and enjoys spending her afternoons playing it. She uses the optional PE period she has to get in extra practice for tennis and also plays over the summer in camp.
Many middle school students may think of JV sports as an extracurricular activity that is time-consuming and exhausting. While it is difficult to manage time along with sports, Eleanor and Emma are dedicated to their sport and make great role models for people of any grade level thinking of joining JV Tennis. They epitomize the statement that with the right dedication and perseverance, their dream is in sight.
Emma and Eleanor try to encourage middle school students to join a JV team, expressing their love for it. With all the challenges they may face starting their nightly routines two hours later than the rest of 8th grade, both have still managed to maintain an academic and athletic balance, even receiving student excellence awards in sports: Emma received the Ralph K. Dupee Award while Eleanor received the Maryanna Sheller Spirit Award.
