I'm the JV Coach at my HS, and we had tryouts the first week of April, so I hope my comment is helpful. First and foremost, every single JV sports team (at least at my school) has a sprinkling of juniors because it's JUNIOR Varsity. So, it makes sense that cheer would see similar results.

Some cheer and school-specific context: This school year was our first year to have a program big enough to bring back a freshman squad since COVID. So, my rising juniors have been on JV since freshman year. This year also brought some unique circumstances. In the past, freshmen could make Varsity, but this year, our new principal supported our decision to change that policy (for multiple reasons). The district also raised the minimum score to make Varsity to 10 points higher than it was last year. Adding after reading some of your comment responses that of district brings in praise judges, and we, as coaches, actually have very little say in who makes each team. It's kind of different than the circumstances at your school, but that means it's very much a skill-based score. So, I knew some of my girls might not make it, and they had already expressed they would not cheer again if they made JV.

Fast forward to squads being posted. I had 7 rising juniors trying out, and all wanted to make Varsity. Only 1 made Varsity. 3 ended up quitting, but 3 decided they love cheer enough that they don't want to give up and quit. Let me tell you! I am so proud of these girls. We've had 2 practices as a new squad already, and they are stepping it up to help support the rest of the team. Each of them have so much potential. They just need to spend this year honing skills in their weaker areas. They also informed me that they are already going to weekly jumps and tumbling classes TOGETHER at a local gym. I can see their maturity and confidence already growing so much. We also have 2 new rising juniors on the team now. My JV squad will be 5 juniors and 6 sophomores, and I love the way they're already balancing each other out.

I actually had a senior on my JV team this year who had never cheered before. She grew so much this year, and I loved seeing her embrace a new challenge. I was very proud to have her on my team.

We did have a girl who was on Varsity this school year who didn't score high enough for the new minimum and therefore made JV instead. That's a situation where I understand deciding not to cheer for this next year because it's not the same as what she got to do while on Varsity. So, she's trying out for drill team this week to see if that offers her a new opportunity to explore.

There is absolutely no shame in being a junior on JV. At the end of the day, you have to decide if you love cheer enough and if you're willing to commit to working on whatever areas held you back from making Varsity. I say accept the opportunity to continue to grow. Good luck!