minor league
minor league , noun
Certain minor league sports teams are often owned by those owning a major league club, and the minor league clubs are used to provide practise and opportunity for evaluation for candidates who wish to play in the major leagues.
Sport) A league of professional sports teams less proficient than a major leagues. Players in the minor leagues generally are paid less than those in the major leagues, and their games attract less atention.
minor-league , adjective
Of or pertaining to a minor league.
2.
Of mediocre talent or poor accomplishment; unimportant; -- of people; as, a minor-league physicist.