The athletes surround the coaches, still breathing hard, sweat beading up from their effort as they anxiously await the announcement.

The Palo Alto girls’ varsity basketball coach Scott Peters complements the girls for working hard in a solid practice. He stands before the girls and announces that they will make up the varsity squad and offers his congratulations to the members of the final roster.

For an upperclassman that does not make varsity, the announcement is much more meaningful. It symbolizes the proverbial fork in the road: the decision between playing as an upperclassman on a junior varsity (JV) team filled with underclassmen or quitting a once enjoyed sport.

Most players on a Paly team have gone through the anticipation of listening for their name called for the varsity roster. For most upperclassmen, they expect to play on the varsity team, but select juniors and seniors must deal with the apprehension of whether or not they will make varsity. Some coaches talk to these players before making the final roster and give them the option to either move up to varsity with little to no playing time, to remain on the JV team, perhaps as strong leaders, or to not play the sport for that season.

For Charmane Breckenridge (’11), a basketball player at Palo Alto High School, the decision to keep playing basketball for the Paly girls JV team was not made easily.

“I told myself that if I were going to be put on JV I wouldn’t play,” Breckenridge said. “But, the JV coach pushed me to play, even though I didn’t want to be on the team.”

Breckenridge, who has played basketball since first grade and for Paly since her sophomore year, recalls having had big dreams for basketball. However, her love of the game began to wither, due largely to her team placement.

“When I was little, I wanted to play basketball in college,” Breckenridge said. “But as I got older it just wasn’t my thing anymore.”

Although she felt disappointed about her placement on JV this year, Breckenridge acknowledges the advantage of being an older and more experienced player on a young team, which translates to a larger role on the court during games.

Girls’ JV basketball coach Brianna Clay expects her older players to step up to leadership roles.

“I would expect them [upperclassmen] to take on a leadership role because they are older and hopefully mature enough to be able to handle certain responsibilities on and off the court, Clay said. “I expect them to not only lead with their voice, but also lead by example and do the right thing.”

Aside from holding a leadership role, Breckenridge acknowledges that she will be able to increase her game experience by playing with the JV.

“On JV, I’ll get more playing time,” Breckenridge said. “Also, I like the JV coach better than the varsity coach.”

Paly girls’ varsity basketball coach, Scott Peters acknowledges that some players perform better at the JV level than at the varsity level, and takes both grade level and years in the program into account when placing a player on a roster.

“[Age] is a factor,” Peters said. “The number one factor is what’s best for the program, and also what’s best for the player. If it’s someone I see playing on the varsity team and, looking at their past if they’ve established themselves as a JV player, then I would probably put them on varsity.”

Clay coaches regardless of age in attempt to prepare them for varsity and strengthen the basketball program as a whole.

“I think my main focus as a coach would be to help develop skills in general for all the girls, and by doing that we as a team can help build the program,” Clay said.

“As time progresses, it would be up to each individual to not only put in effort, but also work hard to prepare themselves for varsity if that is what they want.”

Clay realizes that much of the work must be done by the player, however.

“I treat everyone equally and teach everyone the same skills,” Clay said. “But it is up to the players to put in the extra effort to do what it takes to be varsity bound.”

Breckenridge spoke to Clay about continuing her basketball career on JV this season, and Breckenridge decided that playing on the team was what she wanted for herself.

Breckenridge hopes that playing on JV this season will give her more experience and leadership as a player, even though it was not her first choice. Other athletes at Paly have gone through the same situation as Breckenridge.

One of two juniors on the Paly JV soccer team, Brandon Nguyen (’11) looks forward to being a dedicated team leader and captain this year. He remains positive and believes the players will become closer this year, partly because of his experience on the team.

“Since I played JV last year, I know what to expect, and I have experience that the underclassmen don’t have,” Nguyen said. “I was named a captain, and I try to lead by example.”

In his eleventh year of playing soccer, Nguyen started the season with the intention of training with the JV team for a short period of time and then moving up to varsity, but the coaches asked him to stay on JV.

“I was asked if I wanted to play JV, and I accepted with the idea that I would practice with varsity and later in the season play varsity,” Nguyen said. “But it turns out that JV needed help, so I decided to play JV.”

Nguyen has set specific goals for himself this season, which mainly include improving his tempo and ball skills.

“My main goal is to improve my technical game as in touch, passing, and then my speed of play so that I can possibly get moved up,” Nguyen said. “I just need to work harder on my own.”

Since this is Nguyen’s third consecutive season playing for JV, he knows that keeping a positive attitude will keep him upbeat and optimistic this season. While playing for JV was not his first choice for his junior year soccer season, Nguyen believes that this is where the Paly soccer program needs him the most.

Another soccer player, Ethan Plant (’10), found himself facing the same issue as Nguyen and Breckenridge his junior year, but decided to take a different route.

Plant, who has played competitive soccer since sixth grade, debated playing for the Paly varsity team last year, which was predominately composed of seniors or taking the year off and focusing on other commitments.

“I didn’t believe I was going to play a lot,” Plant said. “Coming from a club team and playing a lot consistently, I wasn’t going to improve being a utility player.”

Plant decided to take the year off, focusing on academics, club soccer and other factors. However, Plant does slightly regret leaving a team as successful as the 2008-2009 Paly boys’ soccer team.

“On the whole, I would have loved to play, especially since we were so good,” Plant said. “But I think it was the right decision [not to play for school] because it was helpful for club [soccer] and academics and to focus on higher priorities.”

Because of this decision, Plant lost a year of team bonding with his current team. Despite this fact, Plant still believes he can maintain a strong relationship with his teammates and also be a potential leader for the varsity team this year.

“I played with a bunch of these guys my sophomore year,” Plant said. “I got to assimilate into their culture, and it is a tight knit group by trade.”

Plant also recognizes that it is his last opportunity to play school soccer, as he will not be playing soccer for a college team.

“Since I won’t be playing in college, this will be my last school soccer season,” Plant said. “I think it is a good thing for me to do.”

Each athlete faced the JV decision and made a choice that suited him or herself best, whether that meant quitting, taking a year off, or continuing to play at a level lower than they hoped, the three players feel content with their different paths.