With the new realignment of schools in Mission, I was wondering how their competitive sports would, or would not work.
Unless I'm mistaken high school sports in B.C. Are divided into: grade eight, junior varsity(9-10), and varsity(11-12).
With the way the high school/middle schools are configured the age group for junior varsity would be split between the high school (grade10), and the various middle schools (grade 9), in my mind that makes it nearly impossible to create competitive JV teams. While the JV teams are important in and of themselves, they are also the building blocks for varsity sports.
It is important for athletes to get a full two years at each level in order to develop the skills necessary to succeed at their sport(s). You really can't build a team out of one age group so a JV team comprised of only grade 9's would have no older players to learn from, and a team comprised of only grade 10's would be filled with players without an extra year of experience, and either of these scenarios would produce inexperienced players for the varsity level.
Good high school sports develop talent which is showcased through these levels, the better teams do, the more likely they are to be scouted by Universities & Colleges which in turn leads to scholarships for talented student players.
I see chopping JV sports in half to be detrimental to this process and I believe if this is how high school sports in Mission will be run then many future post secondary scholarships will be lost, and students with athletic talent will go to other districts to play.
Curious what others think.
Victor Larsen
Mission