<p>How many boarding school freshmen actually make it onto their schools varsity’s team?</p>
<p>I can only speak of my observations at SPS, but yes, it is challenging to get on a varsity team as a freshman - more so for boys then girls, and it can vary by sport.</p>
<p>In general, I would say that perhaps 1-2 boys play varsity per sport at SPS and for girls it can often be 3-4 per sport.</p>
<p>I know that there are or have been recently freshmen on several varsity teams at Hotchkiss, including the tennis and baseball squads.</p>
<p>It will vary by sport and school year to year. In my son’s fall sport at Deerfield, there were 4 freshman on his team (2 repeat freshmen including my son). It is atypical to have so many and they had a very young team overall with no seniors contributing. My son was one of 2 freshmen on his winter team and is one of three on his spring team. He and another girl (who’s actually very small, but a tremendous athlete) are the only tri-varsity athletes in their freshmen class.</p>
<p>I think it is quite unusual. My son was recruited for varsity in two sports as a repeat freshman. He was the only freshman (with 18 seniors and pgs on one of the teams) and one of two freshmen on the other. In the past two years since he started, there have been no other freshmen on either team. He also played a third sport for which he was not recruited at the outset and was the only freshmen on that team as well. I am not sure about girls’ sports. And there is probably more of a chance in the “soft” sports.</p>
<p>In sports where “physical maturity” (i.e. size and strenght) play a big role (football, hockey), very few freshmen play significant roles if any. In women’s sports, the physical nature of the participants is less prounounced, as girls physically mature (stop growing)younger you find more frosh participants in varsity sports. Goaliegirl was able to start 4-years in net for her school, which while unusual isn’t unprecedented.</p>
<p>Additionally, small schools by the sheer limited number of students also allows for more freshmen to get quality time in varsity programs. While most of these teams are not as good as the bigger schools (where they have a larger pool of talent to choose from), they do offer a good experience to their athletes.</p>
<p>And I should add to my post, that while he was recruited for varsity…in his main sport he was asked if he minded playing JVA (this was before they ever even saw him play) just because the team already was filled with 10 seniors and 8 PG’s. He practiced and saw some V time (was double rostered), but played most games with JV and had a stellar season. I do feel for your daughter, but the coach must see value in her and wants her to practice with and be part of the team. I would imagine she will start seeing more time as a sophomore.</p>