Evaluating the Season: How to Assess Your JV Team Postseason the Right Way
When the final whistle blows on your JV season, it’s easy to think the work is done. The uniforms are turned in, the pads are back on the shelf, and you finally get a moment to breathe. But for a JV coach — for someone who’s trying to build not just a team, but a program — this is when the real work begins.
The postseason evaluation process is where we take everything that happened over the past few months — the games, the practices, the growth, the setbacks — and use it to build the roadmap for what’s next. Because at the JV level, your success isn’t measured solely in wins and losses. It’s measured in development, progress, and preparation.
So today, we’ll break down what I consider the most important parts of a postseason evaluation. These are the same areas I look at every year when reviewing my team — not just to determine who might be ready for the next level, but to identify what each player, and our staff, can improve on going forward.
We’ll talk about evaluating performance, coachability, trustability, football ability, and player attitudes — both toward the game and their team. We’ll also get into position-specific evaluations, like offensive line engagement and team tackling ability, which tell you a lot about your team’s core toughness and identity. Finally, we’ll discuss what traits translate to the varsity level, and what still needs to be developed before a player makes that jump.
The Purpose of Postseason Evaluation
Before you start grading film or filling out player reports, you need to know what your purpose is. The goal of a postseason evaluation at the JV level isn’t to critique or tear down players — it’s to assess growth and project potential.
You’re not just looking for who the best JV player was this year. You’re looking for who can help the program down the road. You’re trying to identify who took coaching, who made strides, and who’s ready — or close to ready — to compete at the next level.
It’s also about identifying patterns within your team. Did your offensive line improve each week, or did they plateau? Did tackling get better as the year went on, or worse? Were your best athletes also your best teammates? These are program-level questions that should shape how you approach next offseason.
At the JV level, the postseason evaluation is your compass. It tells you what you did well as a staff, what your players learned, and where your team needs to grow. It also provides a bearing as to where your program as a whole may be headed.
Evaluating Player Performance
Performance is the easiest category to assess, but it’s not always the most important. Still, it gives you a foundation to build from.
When looking at a player’s performance, I like to focus on consistency, improvement, and impact.
Consistency means: how often did this player execute their job correctly? Were they dependable? Could you count on them to play within the scheme?
Improvement means: did they get better from Week 1 to Week 8? You’re looking for trajectory — did they take coaching and show growth over time?
Impact means: did they make plays that changed games? Every team has a handful of players who consistently make something happen.
One thing I caution against is putting too much emphasis on stats or flashy plays. JV football can be unpredictable. Sometimes your most productive player isn’t the one who’s ready for varsity — it’s the one who does all the little things right.
Stats can be a good thing, though, when it comes to looking at a player’s growth from one season to the next. They can be a quick metric into how much improvement they made from their freshman year to their sophomore one, and even from game one to game eight. While stats don’t tell the whole story, they can be a quick window into their development as a player. But again, it shouldn’t be the end all be all of this player.
When you evaluate performance, you’re really evaluating habits. Good habits lead to consistent execution. Consistent execution leads to production.
Evaluating Coachability
This might be the single most important factor in whether a JV player ever contributes at the varsity level.
Coachability isn’t about being quiet and obedient — it’s about being receptive and responsive. Can a kid take feedback without getting defensive? Can they apply corrections quickly? Do they seek out coaching, or do they avoid it?
A player who’s highly coachable can make enormous jumps in development, even if their natural ability isn’t top-tier yet. Conversely, a player who resists coaching will almost always plateau, no matter how athletic they are.
You can evaluate coachability by reflecting on specific moments from practice or games:
When they made a mistake, did they listen or argue?
When they got reps in individual periods, did they take the details seriously or just go through the motions?
Did they get better at what you coached, or did you have to correct the same thing every week?
Players who are coachable make your entire program stronger. They raise the floor for everyone else. They create the kind of culture varsity coaches love to inherit.
Evaluating Trustability
At the JV level, trust is everything. You can’t build a successful team — or a sustainable program — without it.
Trustability goes beyond football knowledge or athletic ability. It’s about reliability, responsibility, and accountability. When you put a player in, do you trust them to do their job? To know the play call? To show up to practice and meetings on time?
A “trustable” player doesn’t have to be perfect. But they’re consistent. You can depend on them. They know their assignments, they give full effort, and they don’t make excuses.
One of the best indicators of a player’s readiness for varsity isn’t their skill level — it’s their trust level. Varsity coaches need players they can trust. If a JV player is erratic, undisciplined, or unreliable, that’s a red flag that they’re not ready to contribute yet.
Building trustability should be a year-long focus for every JV coach. It starts with holding kids accountable, modeling consistency yourself, and creating standards they can meet and exceed.
Evaluating Football Ability
This is the most obvious area, but it’s also one that requires perspective. Football ability isn’t just about athleticism — it’s about understanding and execution.
When you evaluate football ability, you’re looking at:
Football IQ — Does the player understand the game? Do they know down and distance? Can they read situations?
Technique — Do they play with good fundamentals? Do they have good pad level, hand placement, and footwork?
Physical tools — Speed, quickness, strength, balance, agility, etc.
Position fit — Are they in the right role for their skill set?
Some players look like world-beaters in space but struggle when the game gets more physical. Others might not stand out athletically but play smart, tough, and fundamentally sound.
When you combine football ability with coachability and trustability, you get the kind of player who becomes a contributor at the next level.
Evaluating Attitude Toward Football
This one’s often overlooked but hugely important. At the JV level, kids are still figuring out whether they love the game or just like it.
A player’s attitude toward football tells you a lot about their future. The ones who love it — who show up early, who watch film, who ask questions, who are competitive in everything they do — those are the ones who usually keep climbing.
You can see it in how they practice. Do they take pride in getting better? Do they light up when they make a play? Do they compete when things get tough?
Players who are lukewarm toward the game often fade out as the demands increase at the varsity level. That doesn’t make them bad kids — it just means football may not be their passion. As coaches, our job is to help them find their place in the program, whatever that looks like.
But the ones who love football? Those are the kids you build around. They’ll do the extra work. They’ll respond to coaching. They’ll bring energy every day.
Evaluating Attitude Toward the Team
The final piece of the player evaluation puzzle is attitude toward their teammates. JV football is all about team culture — and how kids treat each other matters just as much as how they play.
When you look back at your roster, ask yourself:
Who was a good teammate?
Who encouraged others when things went wrong?
Who was coachable and humble in success?
Who pouted or disengaged when they didn’t get what they wanted?
You want to identify the kids who are program guys — the ones who care about the group, not just themselves.
A player’s attitude toward the team often reveals their leadership potential. Even if they’re not vocal leaders yet, players who put the team first, hold others accountable, and bring good energy will thrive as they move up.
On the flip side, players who consistently act selfishly — whether it’s complaining about touches, playing time, or blame-shifting — are red flags. Those behaviors rarely disappear without intervention.
Evaluating Varsity Potential
Once you’ve assessed all the categories above, it’s time to project. Who’s ready to help the varsity team? Who’s close? Who needs another offseason of development?
This isn’t about labeling kids as “varsity” or “JV forever.” It’s about giving the varsity staff honest, detailed evaluations that help them make decisions.
When projecting varsity potential, I look at three main areas:
Physical readiness — Can they compete at varsity speed and strength?
Mental readiness — Do they understand the game well enough to play within a complex system?
Emotional readiness — Can they handle pressure, criticism, and accountability at that level?
Sometimes, a player checks all three boxes and is ready right away. Other times, a player has the talent but still needs to mature or learn discipline. Either way, you’re helping the varsity program by being honest and thorough.
It’s also worth noting that some players may not be varsity starters next year, but they’ll become varsity contributors — special teams, scout team, rotation players. That’s valuable. The more prepared they are to help in any capacity, the stronger your program becomes.
Evaluating the Offensive Line
Every year, I make a special point to evaluate the offensive line as a unit. Why? Because how your offensive line performs — and more importantly, how they engage every play — tells you everything about your team’s identity.
At the JV level, offensive line play is often inconsistent. Kids are still learning technique, timing, and confidence. But effort and engagement are non-negotiable.
When evaluating your line, ask:
Are they finishing blocks?
Are they finding work every play?
Are they firing off the ball every snap?
A good JV offensive line doesn’t have to be perfect — they just have to play connected. You can coach up technique. You can fix footwork. But you can’t teach effort and toughness if they’re not already there.
When I evaluate linemen, I watch every offensive snap, and grade them with the following letters: E, C, L. E for engaged, meaning they found work and finished the play blocking somebody. C for chasing, meaning they were chasing down the play or looking for someone else to hit. L means Loafing, meaning they whiffed on a block, then stood there watching the play. The higher the number of E’s and C’s, the more trust you can put on that lineman to help in the future.
When you find linemen who compete every snap, who care about their craft, and who play for each other — those are future varsity linemen.
Evaluating Team Tackling
The other area I always emphasize in postseason evaluation is tackling. Nothing defines a defense more than its ability — or inability — to tackle.
At the JV level, tackling is usually inconsistent early in the year. That’s normal. But by season’s end, you should see growth. Players should be more confident, more physical, and more technically sound.
When reviewing film, look for trends:
Are players taking good angles?
Are they wrapping up and driving through contact?
Do they break down under control or lunge and miss?
How do multiple players swarm to the ball?
If tackling didn’t improve over the course of the season, that’s a reflection of practice priorities. Make note of what drills worked and what didn’t, and plan your offseason around improving that area.
Good tackling doesn’t just prevent big plays — it builds confidence. When kids know they can make a hit, they play faster. And when your team tackles well collectively, it’s a sign that your defense trusts each other and plays with discipline.
Traits That Help or Hurt the Program
One of the hardest — but most important — parts of postseason evaluation is being honest about which player traits help your program and which hurt it.
Helpful traits include:
Coachability
Consistency
Toughness
Unselfishness
Positive energy
Accountability
Harmful traits include:
Laziness
Excuse-making
Negativity
Selfishness
Inconsistency
Every player has strengths and weaknesses. Your job isn’t to judge them — it’s to guide them. But as a program builder, you have to protect your culture. If a player consistently demonstrates traits that hurt the program, you need a plan to address it.
Remember: JV football isn’t just about developing athletes. It’s about developing teammates, leaders, and young men.
Using the Evaluation to Build Next Year’s Plan
Once you’ve evaluated your team, the next step is to use that information to build your offseason and next year’s plan.
Ask yourself:
What position groups need more depth or development?
Where did we struggle most — technique, toughness, execution, or effort?
Which players showed leadership potential?
What did we do well that we should double down on?
The answers to those questions will shape your winter workouts, your summer installs, and your approach to next season.
A good postseason evaluation doesn’t just close the book on this year — it opens the next one.
Final Thoughts
Postseason evaluation isn’t glamorous. It’s not as exciting as game planning or watching Friday night lights. But it’s where great football programs are built.
When you take the time to evaluate your players honestly and thoughtfully, you’re giving them the best chance to succeed down the road. You’re also giving your varsity staff the gift of preparedness — players who are ready not just to fill a jersey, but to contribute meaningfully.
And maybe most importantly, you’re honoring the process. Because at the JV level, our job isn’t to chase trophies. It’s to build the foundation. It’s to teach habits, foster belief, and prepare young athletes for what’s next.
So as you sit down with your notes, your film, and your reflections from the season — take pride in what you’ve built. Look for growth, not perfection. Celebrate development, not just production.
Because that’s what real coaching is. And that’s what keeps this level of football — JV football — so incredibly rewarding.
If you’re interested in looking further at how I evaluate my own teams, check out the JV Playbook store on coachingshare.com, where I’ll be putting the templates for my Player evaluations, OL Evaluation, and Tackling Evaluation.
In the meantime, keep checking out the socials (coacheaston268 and/or the JV Playbook) and enjoy the offseason. Only 40 more weeks until next season!
And remember, Teach It, Build it, Rep it. That’s the JV Way.
