Junior Varsity Teams Set the Stage for Success
Peddie’s junior varsity programs are preparing student-athletes to succeed by teaching lifelong lessons about sportsmanship, discipline, personal integrity, teamwork, time management and perseverance.
“No matter the level of the program, the athletic experience at Peddie is viewed as an extension of the classroom,” said Rich D’Andrea, director of athletics.
On an individual level, the JV experience challenges student-athletes physically, emotionally and socially with the ultimate goal of personal empowerment, D’Andrea said, while teaching the foundational aspects of a sport.
Junior Varsity Girls Soccer Head Coach Jim Truslow, who has been coaching for over 15 years, said he has had players who have never played soccer motivated to learn a new sport or remain in shape during the offseason of other sports.
“They’re coming from having never played the game before, or maybe not having done a whole lot of athletics things before. And they’ve jumped in, and they’ve contributed in huge ways,” he said. “It’s also incredibly rewarding to see a kid who is a freshman on your team play at the varsity level and contribute at the varsity level.”
Nowhere is that effort more on display than during Peddie-Blair Day, when a JV win is equally important to a varsity win. In 2024, JV teams played a huge role in Peddie’s win of the Kelley-Potter Cup. Junior varsity girls tennis, junior varsity girls field hockey and junior varsity girls soccer all earned a point for the Falcons in a tight 6-5 victory.
“Whether you’re a junior varsity soccer or tennis player, or a varsity athlete who is going to go play in college, or you’re a kid who may never play the sport again after high school, your effort matters,” Truslow said.
“Winning the Peddie-Blair Day point is extra special for junior varsity tennis because we’re always the first team to play for a point that counts towards the final Peddie-Blair Day score,” said Coco Zhou ’26 of Junior Varsity Girls Tennis. “I personally think there’s an extra layer of pride associated with getting that first win.”
Both the varsity girls tennis team and junior varsity girls tennis team went undefeated during the 2024 Fall season. Zhou, who has been on the junior varsity team since her freshman year, said she started on the team as one of the last doubles, having barely played a year of tennis. But with constant effort, summer training and a mindset to grow, she worked her way up to playing first doubles and even received the opportunity to sub in for varsity when they needed her.
“Being on this team has taught me how far hard work and a tough mentality can take me,” Zhou said. “Tennis isn’t just about technique — it’s trained me to handle stress, which I believe is useful in my academic endeavors and musical performances, too.”
The JV program was boosted this year with the introduction of the Foundation Program in the impressive new Michael Li ’17 Sports Performance Training Center. The program introduces junior varsity athletes to the weight room as a primary building block of the strength and conditioning program. It’s also specifically designed for junior varsity athletes to develop core strength and conditioning movements used across all athletic teams. The junior varsity programs are in the weight room twice weekly as part of their training and practice schedules.
“The impact on the junior varsity programs has been wonderful,” Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Volkmar said. “I see more junior varsity athletes now coming in during open gym because they actually enjoy lifting weights. The high school weight room can be a magical place. Kids can transform their bodies and minds with consistent lifting.”
Head coach Marisa Green completed her 17th season as a member of the junior varsity girls field hockey coaching staff. This past season, there were 23 players, the largest team in years. Three years ago, the team had six players.
“One thing that I really love about this team is that it reflects the diversity of Peddie,” Green explained. “They’re involved in all different types of clubs and organizations. It’s a really great place for people to meet people who are very different from them, and they seem to all love each other and get along well.”
To the athletes, of course, winning matters, too.
“Junior varsity field hockey was especially happy because it was a strong comeback from last year when we lost (Blair Day),” girls field hockey player Alison Hung ’27 said. “We were very emotional going into the game, and our mindset was not just about winning but also about ending the season meaningfully.”
Green knows that many of her players will never play varsity sports, but during their time on JV Girls Field Hockey, they will work hard at being a member of a team.
“One of my personal missions is to make sure that even if you never play a sport again after this year, when you’re 40 years old and someone brings up team sports, I want you to remember, ‘I was part of this team, it was positive, I loved it, it was fun, I was an athlete, I am an athlete and I’m so glad that this is part of my life,’ ” Green said.