Walking through the halls of Cherry Hill High School East, sports history covers the bulletin boards, showcasing East’s athletic culture. Though outdated, they instill a sense of pride in the athletes at East, inspiring them to try all of the sports East offers.

In Cherry Hill alone, a variety of sports are offered to students, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer and so much more. Kids grow up knowing how to shoot a basket or kick a ball, and they gain an interest in playing for their high school team and representing the school as an athlete. Whether it’s playing volleyball or soccer in the fall, basketball or swimming in the winter, or tennis or lacrosse in the spring, the culture and value of playing for and representing East makes athletes want to play.

Another way East sports establish themselves as desirable to join is the different levels that they offer. For most sports, there is a varsity level and junior varsity (JV) level. One level that makes high school sports stand out is the freshman team. For a long time, the freshman team has existed to allow freshmen to integrate into the program, with them having “immunity” and not being cut. This allows them to play with only freshmen but still be part of the program.

Despite only playing with other athletes their age, this does not stop members of the freshman team from creating strong relationships with upperclassmen. The upperclassmen serve as role models for them, and it helps to have a friendly face in the halls to alleviate the stresses of starting high school.

However, this year, girls’ soccer, for example, cut their freshman program, causing girls who were a part of it last year to be cut this year if they didn’t make JV, along with many new freshmen who came to tryouts.

While having just varsity and JV teams creates a smaller, more intimate program, the point of the freshman team is to allow girls who are interested, but may not be at the utmost competitive level, to still be a part of the team. Taking away the freshman team may strip these athletes of their interest and deter them from coming back the following year, despite being encouraged to try out again.

Some may argue that the freshman team also diminishes the point of the program, as the freshmen feel they do not need to try as hard because they know they cannot get cut. If anything, though, this allows freshmen to gradually make their way to the level they want to be, whether that’s slowly going up a step for JV or pushing themselves to the varsity level. Additionally, it gives them comfort and security in making mistakes, giving them the room to grow and improve.

The reasons for cutting the freshman girls soccer team pertained to limited coaches and not enough people to evenly distribute between all three levels. Despite these reasons being valid, the belief that freshman teams are important to a sport still stands. Other sports at East have found ways to maintain their freshman teams, so why can’t soccer? The idea of a freshman team is for the new incoming high school students to see how the entire program operates without fear of being excluded from it. They can then decide for themselves, after their freshman year, if they want to return to try out for varsity or JV. That is why it is fundamental for a high school sports program to keep their freshman team. Getting rid of the freshman team discourages them from returning due to the fear of being cut once again.

The freshman programs at East prove to benefit the incoming freshmen and encourage them to get involved, showing that it’s a necessary component of the sports at East.