SIDELINE SCENE: Ruthless nature of playoffs doesn't negate area success

Each week, the West Orange Times & Observer arrives in Winter Garden from the printer around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, after which it is distributed to our various stands throughout West Orange County.

In last week’s Sports section, the front page featured stories on Olympia girls lacrosse, Windermere Prep baseball and West Orange softball. Inside was our Athlete of the Week feature on Dr. Phillips boys volleyball’s Logan Czyzewski.

What these things have in common, at least in this instance, is that within roughly 48 hours of the paper’s arrival last week, the Titans, Lakers, Warriors and Panthers all had had their seasons come to an end.

So, too, had the CFCA baseball team and the Foundation Academy softball team that Tuesday.

It took a matter of days for this particular sports editor to go from an impossibly busy guy to twiddling his thumbs with just Olympia baseball left standing.

Such is the nature of the state playoffs in any given sport and the ruthless single-elimination playoff brackets they are accompanied by.

In the NBA, MLB and NHL, among other sports leagues, playoff series are decided by best-of-seven series. In addition to the way this format provides more games, and therefore more money, it also has another, more functional purpose — it helps to ensure the best team wins. 

The lesser team may win a game or two, as is the nature of sports, but the belief regarding a seven-game series is that it is a strong enough sample size for fans to feel at peace with the team that has emerged as the victor.

Of the teams mentioned above, I’m sure there is at least one that looks at the program that beat it recently and thinks it could take that team in a full series, but we’ll never find out.

Frankly, I’m OK with that. 

Although I can remember a time not too long ago when the regional championship for high school baseball was settled by a best-of-three, I also realize how that simply isn’t a cost-effective means for either the schools or the FHSAA of determining who advances.

Which brings me to the my point: Last week is the reality of things. 

Good teams can stumble in this format, or they can simply run into another very good team. When two very good teams meet one another, such as West Orange and Hagerty softball, what you end up having is a situation that can, and often does, come down to which way the ball bounces.

Reconciling that can mean re-evaluating the role of the state title as a measure of success. Surely, although none of them played for a state title, Olympia girls lacrosse, West Orange softball, Dr. Phillips boys volleyball and even Windermere Prep baseball all had tremendous seasons. 

Certainly there is value in that.

One of the greatest things a program can do is be consistent and have a culture in which, as players come and go with each passing season, the program itself manages to remain a mainstay in the conversation of contention.

One of the goals every varsity program should have is relevance on an annual basis. That doesn’t mean a state title can’t figure into the goals set at the onset of a season. When Titans girls lacrosse coach Elyse DeLisle said the next step for her program — after playing in consecutive state semifinals and returning as many players as it will for 2016 — is to play for a state championship, that’s totally reasonable.

But perhaps the most underrated aspect about these programs that create these winning cultures is that they play in meaningful games every year, and that’s something some high-school athletes can’t say. So when West Orange softball plays in front of a packed house, with their classmates watching from the tailgates of their trucks in the outfield and the stands packed with parents, that’s an atmosphere that was earned.

Several area teams did some amazing things this past spring and didn’t reach their ultimate goal — and that’s all right. State playoff brackets can be a fickle things. 

I’m thankful they let us come along for the ride.