The West High JV football team is what I call the next generation of stars! The players on that team are motivated and dedicated to being the next Varsity players on the West High football team. The JV team does not mess around. Coach Rob has the players quickly on the field at 4:15pm. Saying, “Time is money and money is time, hurry up!” At the beginning of practice, the players get in a group doing jump jack spelling out” Wolf Pack” clapping and cheering after, and that brings out the moral of the team, and makes practice more enthusiastic. Coach has them warming up for a solid 5-7 minutes-stretching, running, and getting them ready to sweat for one hour and forty-five minutes. After the warm-up, light sprints and then drills start to come into action. They’re not easy, the players sweat and sigh, breathing heavily after drills. They run drills as if they are playing Tracy high and Kimball, little cross-town rivalry. Some drills also include pushing and tackling each other, and one of the coaches throwing the ball far and two players try to catch it. If drills don’t go as planned with the rush and dedication that coach wants, then there are sprints and bear crawls that are going to take place at the end of practice. It’s tough, but that’s what makes the team stronger and better every single day.
Playing JV football is no joke. It takes time, patience, energy and integrity. I got to interview three of our own shooting stars on the wolfpack team. They explained that being on a JV team is different, harder, and kind of a struggle too. Freshman, Benjamin Gaines is one of our very own football players on the JV team. I asked Gaines what is different about playing youth football and JV football. And he said, “It’s harder, playing the games are different, and it’s a lot of people watching, so it more pressure.” He also said, “Its more serious too.” Then I asked how he prepares himself outside of practice. Ben said, “I like to condition myself, or work out, and be out at the park and practice my footwork.” He also said he likes to throw around a football with some of his fellow players. Benjamin is a devoted athlete he takes being on the field seriously, which has an impact on how he plays on the field and how his teammates work together.
Next, I got to interview another freshman wolf named Leighton Oquinn, I asked him a set of questions to get his point of view about his team and his coaches. I asked him what the team need to work on as collective, and he said “Okay, I feel like something me and my team need to work on is our speed and our urgency, how to get in line, and learning how to be more persistent with the things we do.” I also asked him how he feels about his new coaches. He said, “They’re an amazing group of people, Coach Rob is probably the best because he is the hardest on me, my favorite one because he’s pushing me to be the best player because he knows I can do the best.” Obviously, the bond between him and his coach is great! Coach Rob is doing his thing, getting these boys to present the best football players they can be on that field.
At the end of the day our JV pups are turning into strong, mighty, and unstoppable wolves. The JV team is just preparing for the next game-they are building the future of varsity football. With their hard work and dedication, it is clear this squad has what it takes to keep the program strong. JV is working hard to be the next generation of wolves. I say we have nothing to worry about.
