Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
April 20, 2007, Washington Post

You Can't Lose for Trying

The NBA playoffs start this weekend, and the Washington Wizards have almost no chance to win even a single playoff series. The Wizards lost their top two players -- Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler -- to injuries in recent weeks. Together, these two guys averaged more than 47 points a game.

NBA teams have trouble winning if they are missing even one star. Think of the Dallas Mavericks without Dirk Nowitzki, the Los Angeles Lakers without Kobe Bryant or the Cleveland Cavaliers without LeBron James. The Wizards are missing two top players. So it looks like they're sunk.

Kids who play sports know how the Wizards feel. Lots of kids play games against bigger, better teams. They know as they look across the field or court that the other team is probably going to beat them.

I coached a kids soccer team years ago. In the first two seasons, my kids won almost every game. So we moved up to a tougher league.

In one of our first games in the new league, we ran into a soccer machine. The opposing players jumped out of their parents' vans in perfectly matched uniforms. On the field, they stayed in their positions and executed precise give-and-go and crossing passes.

At halftime the score was 5-0. My players gathered around me and wondered what their coach could say to help them get back in the game. Here is what I told my team:

"Kids, there is no way you can win this game. The other team is faster, has better skills and is much better-coached. So you are about to learn one of the hardest lessons in sports: You can't give up. You have to play the second half. But I promise you, if you play your hardest, something good will come out of it. But it won't be today, because there is no way you can win this game."

My players fought to a scoreless tie in the second half and learned something very important that helped them for the rest of that season and in other sports as well. The kids learned that they had to play their best and hustle like crazy just to keep the games close.

It's the same with the Wizards. The team is hurting and doesn't stand much of a chance. But Coach Eddie Jordan will learn which players won't give up even when things look hopeless. Those hustling players are the ones the Wizards will want to keep when Arenas and Butler come back next season.

So the Wizards might not be able to win, but they still can be winners. If they play their hardest, something good will come of it. But it won't be this season -- because there is no way the Wizards can win in these playoffs.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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