By Hanna Duenkel

It’s the beginning of October, which means that the fall sports season is in full swing, and the talk of the town is Tuscarora’s sports.  With the varsity football team 9-0, breaking the 6 game win-streak record that was set in the 2013 season, and the varsity volleyball team 8-11-1, the Huskies are having a pretty successful season so far.  It only makes sense that the freshman teams are doing well too, right?  As of right now, the freshman football team is 4-2 and the freshman volleyball girls are 10-5.

One of the main reasons for providing freshman teams in high school is so that 9th grade athletes can develop skills that can help them in the future if they ever decided to play for varsity teams.  In a way, the success of these freshman teams can predict the success of future teams, exemplified by last year’s freshman football team having a 10-1 record and this year’s varsity team being undefeated.  Last year, the freshman volleyball team was 8-8, which almost matches this year’s varsity record.

“Freshman football was a big year of experience.  I was learning what I can and can’t do,” said sophomore Bryce Sorrell.  Sorrell played for the freshman football team in the 2013 fall season and currently plays for Tuscarora’s varsity football team.

One of the main goals of the freshman sports coaches is to prepare the athletes for the varsity level.

“First off, I make sure that they do what varsity does as a program.  They are able to follow the same types of rules, drills, disciplinary actions—punishments for dropped balls or missed serves—so that they have an understanding and so they won’t be confused throughout the years; they’ll know exactly what to do when they get to the next level,” said freshman volleyball coach Trisha Causin.

The same methods are used for freshman football and cheer in how they discipline their athletes and prepare them for the future.  After all, there is a massive difference of skill level between the varsity teams and the freshman teams.

“The varsity level is much more intense and tends to be a huge adjustment for the athletes,” said varsity cheerleading coach Meg Upp.

What could be considered the most important thing about these teams is that they can create a way for the athletes to feel at home with the school and their teams.  While playing freshman sports, athletes can build relationships with coaches and teammates and eventually advance to the varsity level.  Even though freshman sports don’t have a large student following, varsity and JV athletes fondly remember their times on their freshman teams.

“I wish that I could replay it.  I didn’t know how much I loved it and missed it until it was over.  I wish that I could go back again,” said Sorrell.