WARNING: For all upperclassmen trying out for varsity sports, you are no longer safe! Every year more freshmen go beyond the norm of their age to compete on varsity level sports; surpassing all obstacles of a new school, new friends, and a new lifestyle. Besides preparing for these factors, freshmen must also be talented enough to tackle the new challenges that the sport already compiles of; all in which many have already conquered thus far into the 2011-2012 school year.

Rebecca Prossen and Mica Wiley, current freshmen on the varsity volleyball team, both agree that the biggest difference between middle school and high school sports is the intensity level.

“It’s a whole different game in high school, and you will have to be willing to practice in order to manage that intensity,” states Wiley, a freshman from Villa Madonna. Both Prossen and Wiley are key starters on varsity this year.

In breaking the  trend of Junior Varsity (9th-10th grade) and Varsity (11th-12th grade) comes great determination and patience. Varsity swimmer Austin Cellers, freshman on the Academy/Jesuit swim team, recallst, “The first week you feel a little prejudice from being on the bottom of the food chain, but you’ll gain more respect as the season continues.”

For all those freshmen out there that find themselves considering trying out for a varsity level sport, do not be intimidated. Although taking on the varsity team might be challenging, the challenge will result in the best reasons for athletics: to be able to compete, practice good sportsmanship, and grow as a leader both on and off the court.

As for Rebecca Prossen, she advises to all the future freshmen looking to try out for varsity, “Play your best and give it all you got because athleticism has no age.”