COLUMN: High school players, coaches compete for more than just trophies

The obsession with championships is pervasive in sports.

Of course, it’s to be expected. That’s the ultimate goal, right? The adage is — per Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in “Moneyball,” among other sources — if you don’t win the last game, nobody cares. Herm Edwards echoed this in an often-remixed, infamous press conference: “Hello? You play to win the game!”

In speaking with a number of high school coaches over the past few months, it quickly became clear that it’s different at that level.

In a state like Georgia, which tends to produce a litany of talented athletes every year — and, to take that further, in an area like Middle Georgia which tends to be responsible for at least a decent chunk of said talents — there’s only one state championship to go around at each level. 

There’s dozens, sometimes hundreds of schools vying for it all at once, each sport’s statewide tournament a chaotic slew of winner-take-all contests that are too often forgotten by the masses but treasured forever by the athletes that play in them, and usually their parents, too.

So yeah, I get the obsession with championships at the high school level. The frenetic chase for a state title is fascinating and fun, and makes those trophies even sweeter.

But, to an extent, the astronomically long odds on many of those Georgia championships change the culture at the high school level. A lot of coaches don’t focus solely on the state titles. How easy is it to instill the same mindset in student athletes?

This provides an avenue for a quick tour of the venues, schools and coaches I’ve visited as The Melody has begun. I witnessed much of the soccer and baseball playoffs, plus the tailend of GHSA’s basketball tournaments, and teams were always crestfallen after losses.

One of the first things I got to do as sports editor was practice my photography skills at Central’s girls basketball Final Four matchup in Milledgeville, prepping for that inevitable reporter’s apocalypse when there’s not a photographer available. 

I didn’t speak to Chargers head coach Tamara Bolston-Williams until a few months after that game, but she told it plainly this week when I chatted with her: it’s pure heartbreak after the game ends, but reflection in the weeks and months after is usually positive.

“All you can do is process those emotions together,” Bolston-Williams said. “We all go through it the best way we can. But you have to remember, you made it to the Final Four. Once you look back on those other games, you realize how much you accomplished.”

The team is downtrodden after such a loss, particularly the seniors, but the fact of it is that the next year will always arrive, and most athletes have a positive overall takeaway.

FPD’s girls soccer team went the entire season without a loss, dominating opponents to the tune of more than 100 goals scored while allowing fewer than 10 goals.

Yet they still lost in their semifinal game against Brookstone. I was in attendance, absent-mindedly dressed in Brookstone blue at FPD’s stomping grounds, trying to take pictures as the two sides waged war. 

Down by two goals late, Vikings freshman phenom Bowen Matthews struck twice in the final minutes. Her clutch scores brought the crowd to life and equalized the showdown, but a gut-wrenching late goal from the Cougars ended FPD’s season.

Head coach Joshua Trieste was down after the game, but far from out. You could have even called him pragmatic.

“There’s not much more you can ask for from a season, we played great all year,” he said. “Games like this just happen, where it doesn’t fall your way. It’s hard, but I’m still really proud of everything we did. Obviously you want that trophy, but we’ll be back.”

This, to me, sets high school athletics apart. I, like many of my fellow Braves fans, bemoaned the team’s putrid playoff performance against the Phillies this past year. It was almost as if the regular season, during which Atlanta’s batting order shattered offensive records and the team won 104 games, had not happened.

Talking to these coaches, even after losses, they brim with pride. Their jobs, in most cases, mean everything to them.

With the Olympics coming up, I’ve thought harder about how sports can mean more to individuals, to nations. I think they mean more to students, too. That’s why covering the high school games, even if there are some between less-than-premier opponents, feels so crucial.

You always play to win the game. Nothing will change that. But it seems, at the high school level, that everyone is playing for something more as well.