High school sports can be a tough task for students while they are in season, especially on top of students. Many students have to go through the ranks and earn their merit in JV before they can move up to varsity. Some athletes need to wait until their senior year to get that opportunity because seniors are traditionally on varsity.

Steven Gemma, a senior football player, hasn’t had much varsity time in his high school career, but is excited to finally be able to start at linebacker for the Football Knights.

“A lot more time is required especially over the offseason,” Gemma said. “The biggest challenge would be stress because you have to be a lot more dialed in and a lot more is expected out of you.”

With workouts and other training, it can become a full-time commitment, but most players agree it pays for itself when the season comes and they’re in the best shape possible.

But that wait is shorter for some players than others; some athletes go to varsity in their sophomore year after a season of playing JV. Julia Schmulewitz, a junior lacrosse player, got a chance to play defense and midfield for the Knights this past fall and felt a big jump from JV.

“There’s more time commitment and more expectation during the games, practice and during the offseason,” Schmulewitz said. “There is added pressure because your games matter more.”

In her junior year, Schmulewitz still has two more seasons to play, but she said it won’t be easy without dedication to getting better.

Players all agree that varsity is much tougher than JV due to the added pressure that can come with it. Varsity has a sense of needing to win every game, while on JV it is more acceptable to lose because it is a developmental level.

Football is one of the biggest sports at West Essex and can be a lot of pressure for players to win every week, especially for sophomore varsity quarterback Zach Lemanski.

“The game is a lot faster and guys are a lot bigger, and I have to be more clutch in games,” Lemanski said.

These athletes have to fit their sports in their schedule as well as their academic obligations. This can become very difficult with homework, practice and other extracurriculars such as clubs and extra help. Sometimes players don’t get home until 8 p.m. and it seems as if there is no time to do any schoolwork, let alone wanting to complete that work.

“I need to make sure I do a good job for my school, team and fans,” Lemanski said.

Being a varsity athlete comes with work, practice and dedication, but if it is something you are willing to put in the time and do, it is well worth it. Varsity athletes have a lot on their plate, but the rewards that come with, and being able to tell yourself you made it that far can be very satisfying for many people.

These players put in work everyday, on and off the field to become varsity players. Eventually that hard work payed off and led to their success on the varsity team.

Everyone is always striving to get better and getting passed up is always a threat. That’s why working hard and committing a lot of time is essential.