JV Girls Lacrosse: Gaggle of sophomores provide promise for upbeat Middletown

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

                       

One of the goals for any athletics program at the high school level is to have a degree of uniformity carry over from the JV team to the varsity team. This uniformity is usually the mark of any established program and a positive step because it helps all the players in the program get on the same system and same operations whether they play on JV or Varsity.

Even better for the program is when all of the players play with the same style. The benefits of this are large as it allows the players to make a rather seamless transition from the JV level to the Varsity level.

The Middletown High School Knights JV Girls Lacrosse program has taken this idea to the extreme, as when comparing the JV Girls Lacrosse team to the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team above them the two appear to be spitting images of each other.

While the Varsity team has a charge of seniors leading the way for them this season the JV team has their own version of that with a large group of experienced sophomores prepared to help take the Knights toward a winning season this year.

The talent from the sophomore class is deep and spread out over the field as Middletown has 10^th grade stalwarts all across the field at defense, midfield, offense, and in the net.

The group of talented sophomores includes Knights players like Shannon Duley, Rachel Walchuck, Chrissy David, Megan Atkinson, Andrea Kundrick, and Alex Miller.

All seven of these sophomores will provide significant help for the Knights this season with Walchuck, Kundrick and Atkinson leading the charge up front.

The most important trio for Middletown will be the trio of Atkinson, Walchuck, and Duley as each one will captain their respective units (Atkinson at forward, Walchuck at midfield, and Duley on defense) and provide a boost of stabilizing leadership for a JV team that has always prided itself on solid leadership.

This season will take on a different context for Middletown as unlike most JV teams the opportunity for players to get called up to Varsity at the end of the season seems unlikely because of the level of talent that is currently at the Varsity level.

With that being the case the Knights will be able to play as a team just a bit better as the idea of getting moved up to Varsity will not be lingering in the minds of the JV players. This scenario, although some would argue it being detrimental because it gives the JV athletes no motivation to try and move up, should provide benefits as it will emphasize and put a premium on the team playing together as a unit and not just a group of individuals.

It will also give the Knights the ability to turn the season into a special one as is the case with having a large contingent of sophomores on the team, using the talent that comes from the sophomore class to achieve success over the season.

Considering that the Knights play one of the weaker schedules in the county with weaker county programs like the Governor Thomas Johnson High School Patriots, Frederick High School Cadets, and Tuscarora High School Titans on the schedule the Knights appear to be on the fast track to a successful season.

With some help from a sophomore class that is talented beyond their years, Middletown should be able to do just that and provide Middletown with a glimpse of the talent that will befall their Varsity team in the future.