Playing Up
Middle school athletes step up their game
“I think that it’s really cool that I feel like a part of a team,” eighth grader Livi Tanzer, one of the youngest players on the varsity girls soccer team, said.
This year is the first year in which middle school girls have played up in soccer. Soccer joins football, volleyball and boys soccer as sports that allow middle school athletes to compete on the varsity level.
According to Director of Athletics Mr. Tom Densford, there are multiple deciding factors in the selection of middle schoolers to play up.
“One [factor] is the level of competition that they are playing at their grade and whether or not that’s beneficial for them to stay at that point and do that, or if it’s not gonna help their growth in moving them up to the high school,” Mr. Densford said.
Luckily, these rising athletes so far seem ready to take on that that new level of competition that Mr. Densford addressed.
“They have done a lot better than we had thought,” JV girls soccer coach, Coach Cate Foy, said. “Just even socially, athletically, emotionally, they have done really, really well.”
Tanzer is just one of three middle school players already playing up this fall in their respective sports.
These eighth grade athletes encounter a more athletically-demanding environment in a varsity sport than the less challenging conditions of a middle school sport.
“In middle school, you don’t compete in state or region games,” Tanzer said. “[Varsity sports] are more fun and competitive.”
However, these players also get to experience the prestige and social aspects of being on a team with high school students, something that the average middle school student would not experience until high school.
“The seniors and the juniors make it really easy to be on the team,” eighth grader Katie Clement, another varsity soccer player, said.
D.J. Harden, varsity football player and eighth grader, gets to experience a different atmosphere and new traditions by playing on the football team. Harden especially enjoys the competition and challenges that playing at a harder level entail.
“It’s good having fun and doing all the cool stuff that they do, like run out of the tunnel,” Harden said. “You come home with more bruises and more pains than you would if you played middle school.”
However, Mr. Densford makes it clear that the student’s health is the main priority, especially for younger athletes like Tanzer, Harden and Clement.
“We have a very highly qualified strengthening and conditioning coach who determines what workout they do and how they do that,” Mr. Densford said. “The trainers are always involved in monitoring the student’s health.”
According to coaches and Mr. Densford, the players’ transition into the upper school athletic environment has been smooth.
In particular, varsity girls soccer coach, Coach Tony Whicker, believes the change has been good for the athletes.
“[Tanzer and Clement] have adapted really well, and I think that’s mainly attributed to the players that are in ninth and twelfth grade that have brought them in and made them feel welcome and like a part of the team,” Coach Whicker said. “The transition has gone really well.”
“They love it,” Coach Foy said. “They love being a part of the big program, they like playing at a higher level, [and] they like the competition.”
As for the players, they seem simply excited to be playing on the team and improving.
“It’s cool because I get to know a bunch of new people and make more friendships,” Tanzer said. “It’s helping me prepare for the future.”
