Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Friday, March 2, 2007, Washington Post

If at First You Don't Succeed . . .

Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals' scoring machine, seems to have been broken lately. Over a recent stretch of 10 games, Ovechkin scored one goal.

A similar thing happened to Washington Wizards superstar Gilbert Arenas. Agent Zero, as Arenas is called, struggled in February, and in the past three games he has made only 21.5% of his shots -- compared with his usual 41 percent.

Slumps happen to everyone in sports. Slumps are when the baseball hits don't seem to drop in or when the basketball or hockey puck doesn't find the net no matter what you do.

Even the greatest athletes have suffered through slumps. Take Willie Mays. Some say Mays was the greatest all-around player in the history of baseball. He could run, field, throw, hit and hit for power. But when Mays started in the major leagues in 1951 with the New York Giants (they later became the San Francisco Giants), he got just one hit in his first 26 at-bats. One for 26!

Mays finished his career with 3,283 hits, including 660 home runs. Slumps don't last forever, especially for stars such as Mays.

Still, some of the greatest players have suffered through slumps during the biggest games. Dave Winfield and Mike Schmidt had terrible slumps in the World Series. Winfield had only one single in 22 at-bats for the New York Yankees during the 1981 series, and Schmidt managed just one hit in 20 at-bats during the 1983 series for the Philadelphia Phillies. And they were both Hall of Fame ballplayers.

Or how about golfer Phil Mickelson? Before he won the Masters tournament in 2004, he had not finished first in any major golf tournament -- the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA -- in 46 tries.

Kids have slumps, too. For plenty of kids, every season is one big slump. I coached kids who would score only one basket or get one hit during an entire season. And some kids never came close to scoring a goal in soccer.

So what can kids do when they are in a slump or when the whole season seems like a slump?

First, stay positive and root hard for your teammates. It never helps a team to have players who are complaining and unhappy because things aren't going their way.

Second, keep hustling during practices. Your hustle will help your teammates stay sharp and might get you out of your slump.

Finally, keep at it, and don't panic. Sometimes hits, baskets and goals take time. After another game without a goal during his long slump, Ovechkin told reporters: "I didn't get a goal, but I feel more comfortable. It's okay. It's coming. I had lots of moments."

Ovechkin totaled three goals in his next two games. I guess that slump is over.