quote:
Originally posted by SC_cap'n:
Let me leave you with this question: If you bump a ninth (or even tenth) grader down to JV simply to save a spot on varsity for an upperclassmen what 7th or 8th or other player are you going to cut who then loses out on the opportunity to play for the school team? If you keep a senior just for the purpose of keeping the senior you could be squeezing a player out of soccer who might have ended up being a contributor to your program.
Well, I think I would say that the 7th or 8th grader has plenty of future opportunities to play for the high school team. And if he's that great of a player, I would imagine he would be playing club ball in the spring anyway, not high school.

I understand what all of you are saying, no one can argue against fielding the best team possible. My perspective is from my experience with Wando, who traditionally has dozens of players on varsity and JV. Certainly, many/most schools do not have that deep of a pool and I have no problem with those schools putting underclassmen on a varsity team. So, my point does not apply to the majority of schools.

However, I still maintain, for those schools that have a deep pool, picking a slightly less talented upperclassmen over a 9th or 10th grader has merit.