Under the lights of the football field, shoulder pads clash and coaches call out plays, but not every athlete in a Varsity Football (VFB) jersey is from the Upper School (US). This fall, four eighth-grade students — Darin Shaw, Ben Silverman, Will Kelly and Michael Noonan (all ’30) — have earned spots on the roster and taken the field alongside older teammates.
Independent School League (ISL) Executive Secretary Bobbie Crump-Burbank said the league hasn’t instituted a policy barring middle schoolers from playing varsity sports. The US has seven Middle School (MS) students playing on varsity teams this fall.
“Every school has different requirements for its afternoon program: there is no league-wide requirement.”
All nine of the 16 ISL schools that admit eighth graders field them on varsity teams.
“Those eighth-grade kids are pretty special,” Ms. Crump-Burbank said. “They’re few and far between. There’s a big difference between an eighth-grade athlete and a 12th-grade athlete, but there are some cases where those kids can make significant differences.”
Defensive lineman Xzavier Chafin ’28 played on VFB as an eighth grader.
“It allows the eighth graders to have a relationship with the Upper Schoolers and gives them an edge when they come to the high school, as they have older kids to talk to whenever they need advice,” he said.
Eighth graders on VFB can experience a tough transition early on, he said.
“The physical piece isn’t the problem, but the mental component can be tough. When I was playing, I was always worried about making mistakes, but it helps when you’re going into your sophomore year because you feel a step ahead of others.”
Darin Shaw ’30, a VFB eighth grader, enjoys the team spirit.
“It is a bit intimidating at first, but as time goes on, it gets easier to adapt to the team atmosphere,” he said. “The team is so supportive and is extremely open to newer students.”
Darin said it has been challenging to manage his time.
“I am still adjusting to my new schedule. I try to get my homework done during the free periods or after school, so I am not up late at night doing my work.”
VFB Head Coach Mike Willey said the entire team aided in the eighth graders’ transition.
“The older players do a great job welcoming the kids. They’re just another teammate, and they know that they were once the new kid, and it was hard for them, and they remember that. ”
Athletic Director Jaye Locke explained the US policies for eighth graders in varsity sports.
“Coaches invite eighth graders to try out for the varsity team through the Middle School athletic director,” she said. “If they are in good academic and behavioral standing, they are able to try out. Coaches then evaluate the students’ level through a variety of ways, in which they watch them play the sport and communicate with them and their family.”
Coach Locke said eighth graders on varsity benefit the team.
“There are some elements of this program that present friction or make us constantly work toward keeping things going well, and there are so many wonderful and positive things around having these eighth graders on our teams: connections across campuses, impact on teams, significant growth of those kids and peers proud of their friends.”
At public school Cambridge Rindge and Latin, though still possible, few eighth graders play on varsity teams.
“Ideally, eighth graders should play with their middle school teams,” Director of Athletics Tom Arria said. “There does not have to be a rush to have them play up.”
At Thayer Academy, eighth graders are invited to try out for varsity teams only after they have passed specific criteria. Thayer Athletic Director Bobbi Moran said this includes recommendations from the middle school’s athletic director, dean of students, director of the middle school and the student athlete’s middle school academic advisor.
“We try to do all we can before offering the opportunity to understand the whole student who is being considered. We want to ensure to the best of our ability that he or she is academically, athletically, physically, socially and emotionally ready to compete at a varsity level. They need to be mature enough to handle not only the strenuous practice schedule and games but also the dynamics of a varsity locker room, bus ride and general tone of a varsity team.”
Ms. Moran works strategically with her varsity coaches when considering the opportunity to select an eighth grader to play at varsity level. This includes a final confirmation from the head of school on the decision, she said.
“There are very few eighth graders who can actually navigate all that is required of them in order to play at the varsity level, which is why we put a lot of thought and care into these decisions,” she said. “It is not for everyone. It has been my experience that the eighth graders we have invited to participate on varsity teams have been able to fit right in and have successfully managed the transition and demands placed upon them because we put so much time and care into the decision process of whether or not they should be allowed to try out.”
Part of the criteria for tryouts is that they must be identified by the head varsity coach as an impact-level player who will start and earn significant varsity minutes, Ms. Moran said.
