Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
May 16, 2008, Washington Post

Be Ready for Competition

In sports, every team tries to improve. Teams try to get better during the season and the offseason.

· Manny Acta, manager of the Washington Nationals, has been shuffling the lineup in an attempt to get the Nats out of the cellar of the National League's East Division.

One game Acta plays Nick Johnson at first base, Cristian Guzmán at shortstop and Austin Kearns in the outfield. The next game he tries Aaron Boone, Felipe López and Elijah Dukes. And the Nats skipper has sent a bunch of pitchers to the mound in his search for a dependable fifth starter.

· The Washington Wizards, after losing in the first round of the National Basketball Association playoffs to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, are wondering if they would be better without Gilbert Arenas.

Agent Zero, as the all-star guard is called, has an injured knee and sometimes hogs the ball. Maybe the Wizards would be better if they let him go and played somebody else.

· Hockey's Washington Capitals have parted ways with longtime goaltender Olie Kolzig.

Olie the Goalie has been terrific in the nets for years. But he is 38 now and not as good a player as Cristobal Huet, who came from the Montreal Canadiens in a midseason trade. The Caps might sign Huet to be their first-string goaltender.

Every team trades players, cuts players, tries new players and brings players up from the minors -- hoping to find a combination that will turn the team into a winner.

All of this moving around points out something that kids should never forget about competitive team sports:

Just as teams compete with other teams, players compete with their teammates. They compete for a position, and they compete to start or play more coming off the bench.

When the athletes are young kids, I think everyone should get the same amount of playing time. After all, you really can't tell at age 8 or 10, or even 12, who will be the best players.

But by high school it's okay for the best players to get the most playing time -- just like the best singers and dancers get the leading roles in school musicals, and the best musicians play solos in the band.

So if you want to play team sports, you have to be ready to compete -- against the other team and your own teammates.

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

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