Walking up to a junior varsity soccer game warm-up, the loudest sound is laughter.

According to senior Matt Lillig, the junior varsity soccer team members like to have fun and copy their opponent’s pregame warm-up.

“Most of the time we wait for the other team to start their warm-up and … we do whatever they are doing and do it slightly farther,” said Lillig. “If they go run to the half line, we will run to the half line, plus another five feet.”

According to Lillig, the team’s fun atmosphere and less intense expectations has influenced some seniors, like himself, to choose to play junior varsity rather than varsity.

“I want to play as much soccer as I can, and at the varsity level I wouldn’t have gotten much playing time,” Lillig said.

The team calls itself “JVarsity,” a term coined during last year’s soccer season.

“I love [the term ‘JVarsity’],” said Lillig. “It represents JV soccer in its entirety.”

Craig Niemiec, boys junior varsity soccer head coach, said he understands why players love the team.

“For the most part there is just a fun [mentality] that is shared amongst the guys before practices, after practices [and] during unstructured times when the team is together,” said Niemiec. “They embrace one another. It appears from my perspective that they go out of their way to be inclusive of everyone on the team.”

Junior Alex Amini said he has felt included as a new member of the team this year.

“One time, during conditioning, we saw varsity running in the opposite direction at us,” said Amini. “So, we faced towards them, ran right at them, and linked our arms [like a joust].”

According to Lillig, once the game begins, the atmosphere of the junior varsity team is similar to that of varsity.

“We work hard on JV, but at the varsity level they expect you to take it to the next level,” Lillig said.

According to Niemiec, the atmosphere of playing on junior varsity gives the players the ability to play and act more freely than if they faced the pressure of a varsity sport.

“I don’t see any difference between [juniors and seniors] in terms of their commitment and their desire to have fun and balance that fun with performance on the field,” Niemiec said.

Amini said the juniors and seniors get along well.

“There’s a lot of different types of people [on the team], … and I’ve made some new friends,” said Amini. “It’s been great to have a fun time with [my teammates].”

Lillig said he could not be happier having made the choice to play for junior varsity rather than varsity.

“I just learned to appreciate soccer for what it is and enjoy the sport for the sport,” Lillig said.