Effie Dawson, The Examiner
2008-03-19 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

BALTIMORE -

On Saturday evening at UMBC’s RAC Arena, Mount Hebron’s girls basketball team finished its season with a 28-0 exclamation point. The Vikings took the Maryland 2A title by defeating Poly, 55-40. On the same day, Paint Branch overwhelmed Atholton, 74-39, to complete its undefeated run with a 3A title. Paint Branch wrapped up the season an unstoppable 25-0.

The perfect season. It’s a feat mentioned often in preseason locker rooms, but one that usually is not truly expected and far less often achieved. To get to that pinnacle, a team needs a unique alignment of talent, chemistry, coaching and just plain luck.

First, a team needs a leader like the Vikings‚ senior captain Deanna Dydynski. Not only her team’s top scorer, at 12-plus points a game, Dydynski also had the insight and floor sense that come with four years starting experience. A superstar alone won’t make a dream season come true, though. To reach undefeated status, teams need a depth of teammates who recognize and appreciate their individual roles in practice and in games.

They also need the good fortune to avoid unexpected injury, illness or ineligibility that can rattle team chemistry for even a single night. It means the coach — in Mount Hebron’s case 11-year veteran Scott Robinson — knows how to keep the team focused on each game, one at a time. The coach has to keep the team working, improving and having fun without a single letdown. If not, an undefeated record won’t happen on the high school scene.

But I also think it is important to keep these “perfect” seasons in perspective. Without taking away a single accolade from Mount Hebron and Paint Branch and their impressive performances, don’t forget what happened earlier at RAC Arena on Saturday.

The UMBC men’s basketball team dropped eight games along their path to the American East championship, but they left the building in jubilation, with a league title and, for the first time in school history, a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

For the Retrievers, the American University Eagles and the Texas-Arlington Mavericks, a combined 30 losses won’t dull their shine this week. All of these NCAA Tournament newbies have plenty to celebrate, no matter how long their runs in the postseason.

It shows that a season can’t be judged on a single accomplishment — undefeated status, league championships or playoff invitations. Each team and each can measure success in a different way.

For Atholton, a loss in the 3A final must be balanced with the Raiders’ ability to prove all season that last year’s 2A championship was equally competitive in 3A play.

The Long Reach boys’ team, which lost 84-58 to Largo in the 3A final, should revel in its achievement in reaching the last game. The Lightning stormed into that game after knocking off then-top-ranked Lake Clifton with a late rally in the semifinals.

In a sense, the perfect season is one in which a team meets or surpasses its expectations. Not every team is destined for a state title or NCAA bid, but every team has a chance for success. For some, the stars will align just once, maybe on a single night when every shot finds the net. For some teams, the perfect season means players improve enough to build hope for the following year and confidence for other parts of their lives.

For some, perfection is a measure of numbers. But for most of the young people playing sports, perfection is a year remembered with a smile.

Effie Dawson writes about high school and youth sports. Reach her at edawson@baltimoreexaminer.com