It is extremely rare to have an athlete that goes from JV straight to varsity as a freshman. Usually, coaches keep the underclassmen on the lower levels for two years; however, these incredibly talented athletes surpassed their coaches’ expectations, leaving them with no other option except to invite them the varsity roster. These two athletes are Meredith [Mere] Bethea and Max Richardson.

Volleyball and football are sports that are difficult to make a varsity team as an underclassman. In volleyball, you have to be an extremely seasoned volleyball player to make varsity, let alone JV as a freshman. Mere defied these odds as she made JV as a freshman and varsity as a sophomore. As for Max in the football program, it is very difficult to make varsity as an underclassman because of the human nature behind it.

Luckily for Max, he ranks in the highest tiers for all categories. The only concern for putting underclassmen on varsity is putting the younger athletes in a fast paced environment with bigger, faster, and stronger kids. Max is that bigger, stronger, and faster kid, which is why I believe he is the best sophomore fall male athlete at FHC. This past football season, Max ranked 4th on the team in receiving  yards with 117 total yards and two touchdowns  on the offensives side of the ball. As for defense, he tallied 21 total tackles, 11 of those being solo. This year, he was the only defensive player on the team to score a defensive touchdown. Along with his football skills, he is also a natural leader. Despite being an underclassman, he was a leader–not necessarily vocally but by leading the team by example.

As for Meredith, I’ve had the privilege to be on a team with her for the past two years. During her freshman year, she played as a six-rotation outside for JV. This year, as a sophomore, she played as a right side. Although she had minimal playing time, her court presence and energy on the bench was unmatched. Teammates considered her “the baby of the team”, but praised her skill during practice, games, and tournaments. Meredith is the best sophomore female fall athlete, and I genuinely think that she will be the best fall athlete in her grade for the rest of high school. With playing very few games, every time she got onto the court, she gained a point for the team by getting first ball kills. In my opinion, I believe she should have received some more court time, but that is what next year is for. Watch out for baby Mere!

Overall, both athletes have remarkable athletic abilities to the point that their talents are unsurpassable. Mere will be a starting player on the volleyball team for the next two years, and Max will probably break records and continue to be on the starting lineup both offensively and defensively. Both Mere and Max are incredibly gifted and will continue to do great things throughout their careers. With the amount of time they have left in high school, they can still improve and tweak little things to make them become the best athletes they can be.