With the fall sports winding down many things will be missed. Friday night football, watching the boys soccer team and following the highly ranked boys and girls cross country teams are on the top of many students’ lists.

But what about the boys and girls that work just as hard and practice just as much but do not get as much attention from the newspapers? They are the JV teams and many of this years fall JV teams at Hoover are doing very well.

Football coach Mr. Glenn Cummings said one of the reasons it was important to have JV teams is “to develop the skills necessary to get to the varsity level.” Another reason is it “gives the guys an opportunity to get in and play.”

For the first year in a long time, the JV football team is going undefeated. So far, this year’s team is 8-0 at press time. Junior John Fleming said that their team is different from other years because they “came together more as a team and have some great athletes.” Fleming said one of the ways they bond as a team is by going to wing night at Pannini’s on Monday nights and they also try to play Halo online together.

However, the team does not get by just on good relationships with each other. They have to work hard and practice with the varsity to help get them ready for their games on Fridays. Another reason they practice with varsity is to help them get used to the increased level of speed, which Cummings said is the biggest difference between JV and varsity.

The boys JV white soccer team is also having a good season with a record of 9-2-2 at press time. Freshman Shaun Rambaud, who recently got called up to JV white from JV orange, said that he thinks the reason they are doing so well this year is because they have played with each other so long and they understand the game well. Sophomore Thomas Ballas said that they are so good because their “teamwork and hard work make [us] better.”

One of the most participated in sports at Hoover is cross-country, and for good reasons. This year, the boys cross-country team is ranked third in the Midwest and the girls are number one in the state. The boys JV also won the Federal League championship.

But in a few years, the seniors will graduate and the runners on the JV team will be moved up. That means the runners have to work hard and continue to improve to fill the spaces the seniors left.

One reason the teams are successful is because of the relationships between the runners. Sophomore Matt Milano said that their team differs from other JV teams in the school because they are probably the closest of the teams.

“Everyone is friends with everyone else,” Milano said. One of the things they do to spend more time together is they meet at Mama Guzzardi’s on Thursdays and have pasta parties every Friday.

Sophomore Jessica Shepherd said the JV girls cross country team is close because they spend every day together and talk during their stretch and warm up. She said cross country are different because they “run because they like to.”

“I don’t think any of the [other] teams run unless they’re forced to,” she said.

Even though not as many people come to the JV games as the varsity, fan support is important to all of the JV teams.

“When you’re thinking to yourself ‘I can’t go faster’, [it is the] people there that give you that push,” Milano said. Shepherd said that not many people come to support them and most of the people are just parents, but that still helps her. Fleming agrees that the fan support helps.

“We love our fans and would like to say thanks for the support,” Fleming said.

Cummings said one of the reasons it is important for the JV teams to be successful is because it teaches the players how to win and it gives them confidence.

“So much is to be said about building confidence. The atmosphere of winning is a great addition to the program,” Cummings said.