It's All-Star season here at the Times Argus, and other papers, no doubt, with the high school fall season all but over. I finished up field hockey last night and am in the middle of football right now, and I was reminded of how difficult the decisions are when I received an e-mail from one of the area coaches wondering about how teams are chosen, exactly. Mind you, this coach doesn't even coach in the fall, but this particular coach has been around the Vermont high school sports scene for a while and had children compete in high school athletics.
Basically, the league-voted all-star teams seem to be a bit...long. This coach wanted to know why the teams aren't picked to fit an actual team - 11 soccer players, 11 football players, 9 baseball and softball players, etc. I agree. There are so many things to consider when choosing an all-star team, and none of them are particularly easy. There is always controversy, and always more than one angry parent, coach, player, etc. This might be why the people who choose these teams pick so many kids - we just may be afraid of the parents. Maybe. Just throwing that out there.
A lot of kids deserve the recognition, absolutely. A lot of times these high school sporting adventures may be the only time their names are in the paper or on the news, and I totally understand how big of a deal it can be. The last thing we want to do is snub a kid or a team or a coach or a school.
So, what does an All-Star make?
Stats? Game-winning goals/baskets/hits? State or school records? Just being a good kid? Just showing up? Improvement? Desire? Dedication? Achievement? Domination? Consistency? Unselfish play? Sportsmanship? Leadership?
And how many should there be? Just enough for one team out on the field, or more? Or less?
The coach writes in the e-mail:
"Just like in life, which I have always thought sports was supposed to teach kids about, it seems like we have gotten away from this in our feel-good society. Not everyone who applies for a job gets hired, only the best of the best."
Agreed. What message are giant all-star teams sending to our young athletes? There certainly aren't a lot of players featured in the professional all-star teams, and the first thing that gets talked about when those MLB/NBA/NHL, etc., teams get announced is: Who didn't get picked?
What do you all think?
-Anna Grearson
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