Girls Soccer:
Starting the season strong, Garfield Girls Soccer begins practices two weeks before the first day of school. Junior Dana Potter described the tryouts as competitive and the practices as “really intense.” She continued, “They consist of laps, drills, workouts, and occasionally scrimmaging with varsity.” With much hard work put in at practice, progress can be seen in performances at games. When asked about highlights of the fall season, Potter said her favorite moments were “getting hyped up on the bus for away games.” Despite being concussed for a portion of the season, Potter said, “We won some pretty tough games. We had some really good ones where we locked in and got a lot of balls in the back of the net.”
The JV girls soccer community consists of “a lot of different grades, but [they] all mesh together really well.” The team is led by Meredith Johnson and Marni Farrell-Sheffer, “they are really good captains and great at leading and helping their teammates,” Potter said. When asked about community and team bonding, Potter responded, “the banquet is one of the best parts of the season when we all get to come together and appreciate the growth we’ve had that season”.
Although JV isn’t the “top” team at Garfield, the players take their sport just as seriously. Many athletes also participate in club teams outside of school. Potter said, “ I really enjoy playing but it’s very hard to manage with school and going to practice right after school. But I love my club team, and I love playing.” Potter’s goal for next season is, “Definitely lock in this summer, try to make varsity, and as a senior next year make everyone feel included and make sure the freshmen are comfortable and have a place.” Potter claimed, “JV is a great stepping stone to eventually join varsity”.
Boys Baseball:
With the baseball season approaching this spring, athletes are preparing for tryouts. Looking back at last season, sophomore Elijah King said, “A lot of the guys came to the practices and games and just had a lot of fun. They really got along and we had good chemistry.” With the new season approaching King was excited “to see the program to get better, and also develop [his] leadership skills more”.
Although the practices were more laid-back, King testified that despite the practices being casual, “We could have fun, and everyone still wanted to get better.” Similarly to Potter, King notices many JV players also do select sports. King stated, “I take baseball very seriously because it’s been a sport in my life since I was six.”He continues on to praise the coaching, “the varsity coach paid a lot of attention to the JV players, and the JV coach paid a lot of attention to the varsity players. So it’s like everyone was developing each other.”
King stated, “I think the community on the JV baseball team was full of a lot of different players that motivated each other and made sure everyone was getting better.” He added, “We also were holding each other accountable. Like, right now, there’s a lot of practices that are being held by JV players instead of the seniors.” It’s apparent that the JV baseball team offers opportunities of leadership and growth for its athletes, along with a welcoming and bonded team environment.
Ultimate Frisbee:
Garfield Ultimate is back to having three co-ed teams this winter, which means that JV is back and better than ever. They enter the end of their season with wins against Franklin and Blanchett under their belt, and plenty of other close games to learn from.
Led by captains Sonia Raman and Sam Washburn, the JV Ultimate team, made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, has been out every weekend since December representing Garfield ultimate’s future. Raman has been playing ultimate since third grade, and started playing at Garfield last year. When asked what they were enjoying about the winter season, Raman said, “I enjoy being on a JV team because it’s, you know, people I can play with, and who I’m able to play against.” Raman added how the team has really grown because of this mindset, he said that they have become “really cohesive as a group.”
In the past, the winter JV ultimate team has been more casual, but Raman made it clear that the team has been working hard to improve, “We are growing really rapidly as players… We are playing better, growing as a team, and it’s a really fun group of people,” stated Raman.
Raman also noted that there are multiple players on the roster that are new to the sport, providing some of the more experienced players an opportunity to step into a leadership role. Overall, this winter season has been very productive for JV. The future of ultimate at Garfield looks bright!
Tennis:
Spring is starting soon, which means it’s time for Garfield Tennis to get back on the court. Last season, thanks to an influx of new players, JV made its return to Garfield’s tennis program. No longer a new team, JV is back and ready to get on the court this spring.
Garfield junior Jerry Zhu played on the new JV team last year. After playing for Garfield tennis his freshmen year, when the program was strictly Varsity, he found the culture created by a new JV team to be very valuable. Zhu really appreciated the transition to a JV team, “I’d say there’s a pretty good community there… everyone is pretty friendly with each other,” Zhu said.
The rise of JV is partially due to the increase in coaching staff. During the 2023 season, the team only had one coach, meaning newer players didn’t always get the attention from coaches that they needed. With two coaches, the JV and Varsity teams each have their own coach at matches. When asked about how this transition helped him, Zhu said, “having someone who is more closely monitoring your play and is giving you feedback,” was helpful for him.
The JV team isn’t only about improvement, they take their matches seriously too. Zhu noted that while the Varsity program is “a little more intense in terms of practice and competition, they’re both [JV and Varsity] fairly similar.” After finding their footing their first year on the court, JV tennis is prepared to take on the 2025 season.
