After a regular season record of 12 wins, 3 losses and a tie, plus outscoring their opponents 41 goals to 8 through these games, the Oyster River High School (ORHS) boys’ varsity soccer team has added another successful year to their streak of winning seasons. During this time, the boys’ soccer program has seen its peak popularity, which has brought some unforeseen effects to the team.
This year, about 75 students tried out for boys’ soccer (last year, this number was in the 60s), which resulted in a team of 73 total players (after a couple of players quit). However, due to the previous three-team system, this would have forced coaches to cut at least 18 of the remaining players, which no one wanted to do. To resolve this issue, a fourth team was added, splitting the reserve team into reserve white and reserve blue, with the latter being for more experienced and skilled players. Every team still has a schedule, which allows players to show coaches their capabilities in match play. While many enjoy the competitiveness the system brings, others feel they lose opportunities because of it.
For a long time, the boys’ soccer team consisted of Varsity, Junior Varsity (JV) and Reserve, varsity being for the best players, reserve for the players who require the most improvement, and JV being somewhat in the middle of the two.
However, if the team kept its old layout this year, Reserve White coach Jon Bromley believed it would harm the players. “Had [the coaches] gone with just a normal three teams, we would’ve been cutting an entire team’s worth of players, then recognizing that if you cut a whole team, you’re cutting kids that can actually play,” he said.
This left coaches with two options: either cut the players who are the least developed for the team or create a new team where those players can practice and increase their skills. Of course, the coaches wanted everybody, especially freshman and sophomores, to have a chance to prove themselves, so they created the new reserve teams.
“You might have a freshman who starts out on Reserve, and as a sophomore, he’s on JV. Then his junior/senior season, he’s nasty. But, if you cut those freshmen before they have the opportunity to really develop and become that, you’re ultimately just sort of culling a herd that doesn’t need to be culled,” Reserve Blue coach Jake Baver adds.
And, the high school program will only become more competitive. Coaches—who have been scouting the middle and elementary school soccer programs—have noticed increased interest among players on both school and local teams, like Seacoast United, Maximum Velocity, and the ORYA travel team. “Everything points to the fact that the upcoming eighth graders, incoming freshmen, there’s a lot of competition; there’s a lot of interest in soccer,” said Bromley.
Another benefit coaches have noticed is players are more motivated to improve their game. Because JV, Reserve Blue, and Reserve White all practice together, it makes it easier for coaches to see who deserves to be moved up to JV or reserve blue, and in turn creates greater drive for players to show that they deserve to be promoted. “[Reserve Blue’s] practicing with JV a lot of times, so they can sort of prove us coaches wrong whenever they want in training,” says Baver.
However, this does raise some controversy. Some seniors who try out for varsity don’t make it, as it is a highly competitive field with limited roster spots. But, instead of being cut from the team like they would’ve been last year, these seniors are offered spots on Reserve blue.
Although coaches think it’s a great way to keep players engaged, some players disagree. “Last year, I was on JV. So, it’s kind of a downgrade,” says Mitchell Leonard (‘24), the captain of the Reserve Blue team.
Although Leonard feels disappointed that he’s not on varsity, his position on Reserve Blue is also very important for the others on that team. “I want to help [Baver] create this extra team to help players continuously improve and have something to strive for. Even if they think they’re on reserve and can’t get pulled up to JV, they can get pulled up to this next level that’s not quite JV, but almost there, so they can still improve and have something to strive for,” he says.
Unlike Leonard, Tyler Flynn (‘24), another senior cut from varsity and offered a spot on Reserve Blue, decided not to accept the offer. “It was a really enticing offer. I think Baver’s a really great coach. The reason I didn’t take that was more because I would be too focused on playing each game [for the Reserve Blue team] […] I was more worried about improving than playing,” he said. After becoming the boys’ varsity team manager, Flynn has been practicing with the team.
While some players, and even coaches, are not 100% sure if they are necessary, it is easy to predict what measures need to be taken because of the increased popularity in lower grades, says Baver. “The population size of this freshman class we just had is not an anomaly. It’s kind of the way it’s going. Who knows a year after that, but it does seem like the trend is more and more soccer.”
– James Li
Mouth of the River 
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