High School Sports

Washington Post staff writers Tarik El-Bashir and Josh Barr were online Wednesday, April 6, at 3 p.m. ET to talk about selections for The Post's All-Met section, which honors the area's top high school athletes in basketball, hockey, wrestling, indoor track and swimming. They will also address any other high school sports questions that you may have.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Tarik El-Bashir: Hello, and thanks for joining us today. My name is Tarik El-Bashir and I'm a high school sports reporter. I cover Northern Virginia and private schools (mostly football, basketball, hockey and baseball.) I'm joined today by Josh Barr, who covers Prince George's County (and just about everything else). Ready? Let's chat.

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Upper Marlboro, Md.: What about golf!?! There are kids in the area that play golf -- even some pretty good players! What about the local Junior golf groups and tournaments through the summer? What about Junior GIRLS golf? Gimme some coverage!!! If it helps, I'm willing to nag someone every day about it ...

Josh Barr: Golf in the winter All-Met section?

On a serious note, I'm actually the one responsible for covering high school golf and appreciate any help I get from coaches, parents, readers, agents and overzealous fans -- barrj@washpost.com.

The area's public schools play golf in the fall and private schools play in the spring. Our All-Met golf team runs in the spring All-Met section.

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Centreville, Va.: What happened to All Met for gymnastics?

Josh Barr: Look for it in the spring All-Met section.

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Baltimore, Md.: Are private/parochial school included in the selection?

Josh Barr: Absolutely. We go from almost all the way up to Baltimore (Howard and Anne Arundel counties), west to Winchester, south almost to Richmond and east to the Chesapeake Bay. I think I can speak for the three of us and our colleagues by saying public/private, Maryland/Virginia/D.C., are issues that do not influence our selections. We just try to pick the best team and consider everyone.

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Greenbelt, Md.: Hi -- Just wanted to know why you don't honor Baseball top athletics for the ALL-MET?

Thanks.

Josh Barr: Hmmmmm ... The warm weather must really have folks itching for those spring sports. Baseball -- spring sport. Pick All-Mets in the spring, after the season.

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Maryland: How does one make an ALL-Met Team or even an Honorable Mention?

Tarik El-Bashir: This question always comes up, and it always gets a long answer. So here goes:

The Post solicits nominations from coaches at the more than 250 schools we cover. We then take those nominations into account along with what reporters (like Tarik and Josh) have seen while covering games and what we've heard by talking to the coaches and scouts who know the players best. To make an All-Met team, the player must have a good mix of talent and statistics. College potential is considered. Same goes for the success of the players' team. The picks are ultimately made by The Post's staff ...

That said, it's the hardest thing we do. And we take it very seriously.

--Tarik

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Fairfax Station, Va.: Just a comment. The Post has done an excellent job covering high school sports this year. You seem to keep working to improve your coverage, and I like the fact that you've assigned reporters to cover a sport throughout the season -- rather than assigning different articles to different reporters. I've talked with a couple of neighbors and we all agree that the Post has outdone the "community" papers this year in high school sports coverage. Thanks. It means a lot to the kids.

Josh Barr: Thanks! We'll have to tell our editors!

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Baltimore, Md.: You said you consider the success of an individual player's team. Will you still consider standout players on teams that are otherwise mediocre?

Josh Barr: Absolutely. We try to consider every possible angle and worthy candidate.

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Baltimore, Md.: When does the winter athletic session officially end? I thought it was in the area of early February. Any reason for the delay in selection? Or am I wrong, does the winter season extend further?

Josh Barr: State championships are held in early/mid-March. Our section normally comes out the last week of March, but I'm guessing it might have been delayed a week by the debut of the Nationals and the terrific baseball section that we put out.

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Ft. Belvoir, Va.: It seems to me a lot of "TALENTED FRESHMEN" were overlooked for less producing Juniors and Seniors.

Tarik El-Bashir: We try not to let a player's classification affect our decision making. Simply put: we want the BEST players on our All-Met teams.

That said, juniors and seniors often make more of an impact than even the most talented ninth graders. Juniors and seniors often are the team leaders as well. That can make a difference.

--Tarik

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Springfield, Va.: Thanks for doing a great job covering High School Sports. Do you find that some schools are more agressive then others when it comes to promoting their own players for All-Met consideration? If so, would that be taken into account when you make your selections?

Josh Barr: Of course some coaches/teams/parents lobby more aggressively than others, but that doesn't influence our decision-making process.

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Chicago, Ill.: Any word on where Echefu will be attending college? How good are the Terps' chances of landing him?

Josh Barr: Not sure yet. Uche is on my list of players that I'd like to write about in this week's recruiting insider.

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Annapolis, Md.: I just want to know who selects the Ice Hockey picks, I firmly believe these players are picked on the merits of the club teams than the actual high school teams they play for.

Tarik El-Bashir: I selected the hockey team. And I can tell you that I did not consider a player's status with his or her club team. I weighed each pick based only on their accomplishments while playing for their high school. In fact, there were a few players (who had great club seasons) who did not make All-Met because they did not play in enough games for their high school.

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Baltimore, Md.: Looking ahead to the Spring season, are there any players you all have noticed that we should keep an eye on? Or are there any teams looking to have especially amazing seasons? Any surprises?

Thanks!

Tarik El-Bashir: Yes. We have a ton of players worth following this spring. Too many to name. I wrote about one in today's Post. If you didn't read the story about Westfield baseball player Brandon Snyder, I suggest you do (and not just because I wrote it). Snyder is going to be big time. And probably a lot sooner than you think.

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Washington, D.C.: I was a first team All-Met wrestler (112 pounds - whoa :-) in '92/'93. Congrats to all those who made the honor this year.

Earlier today, there was a link to past All-Met winners but I am not seeing it now. Can you re-post this link?

Again congratulations to everyone this year, particularly the wrestlers.

washingtonpost.com: List of All-Met Teams Since 1990

Josh Barr: Hope this helps.... Thanks Katie!

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Philadelphia, Pa.: Has the Post ever considered creating some sort of an "all-time all-met" team for certain sports? I guess I'm thinking boys and girls basketball and football here. As a paper that serves the community so well, I think it would be interesting if ya'll could provide this sort of data base, which could remind folks of the rich sporting tradition this city has, and the depth of talent that has come out over the years. As a D.C. native living in Philly, I constantly get told that D.C. can't hold a candle to Philly as far as athletes produced. I know that's not true, and I can usually come up with twenty or thirty names off the top of my head, but I know there are more out there. I think this could be an interesting project.

Tarik El-Bashir: I'm not sure I know exactly what you mean. But I think you are saying we should have something like an All-Met Hall of Fame team. Right? That would be a lot of fun to compile. And I can already hear some arguments in the office over who should be all-time All-Met quarterback or point guard.

Sometimes, just for fun, I navigate over to the all-met section on washingtonpost.com and dig through the last 10 years or so of basketball or football All-Mets. It's amazing how many of these players are big time right now.

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Washington, D.C.: Tony Bentely coach for Varsity Wakefield, will he be getting any love this year?

Josh Barr: He was one of the three coaches we strongly considered for Coach of the Year. It was a very tough choice because Tony, Mike Jones and a coach to be named later did such a great job this year.

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Herndon, Va.: Who do you think is the best men's basketball player in the past five years from D.C., Md., Va., and overall?

Josh Barr: Wow, that's a very tough call with a bunch to choose from. I don't know who I'd go with (maybe Tarik will chime in) but I think Mike Beasley might be a safe answer if you ask the same question in another five years.

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Rockville, Md.: Must a coach nominate a swimmer in order to be recognized? What can be done, if anything, when a coach is not fair?

Tarik El-Bashir: No. Athletes do not have to be nominated by their coaches to be considered. If someone is deserving, he or she is likely to be nominated by a competing coach. (We ask coaches to nominate their own players as well as the top athletes from competing teams.)

A coach's opinion of an athlete doesn't make or break their chances of making All-Met.

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Laurel, Md.: Given your criteria ... what was it that kept Bobby Shannon out of the 1st Team All-Met for Basketball? As a frequent spectator for Potomac games, he was the clear leader for his undefeated, state championship team. I thought he at least should have been first team, if not the player of the year.

Josh Barr: Shannon was one of our toughest decisions this year. Okay, probably the toughest. The consensus among talking to other coaches was that Dante Cunningham was the leader for Potomac and he is our player of the year. We strongly considered Bobby for the first team and his case is a solid one.

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Vienna, Va.: Oakton's girls 4x800 relay team defeated Lake Braddock by more than two seconds in the Virginia State Championship. These were both teams' best times of the season.

Can you explain the basis for Lake Braddock's 4X800 being selected Top Relay Team??
Thanks.

Josh Barr: from star track correspondent Sean P. Flynn...

Lake Braddock ran a time at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships that was 13 seconds faster than Oakton's best time.

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St. Petersburg, Fla.: Whatever happened to legendary high school sports writer John Manasso?

Tarik El-Bashir: John Manasso is covering the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) for the Atlanta Journal Constitution these days. At least last I checked. I actually saw him during the Stanley Cup Finals in Tampa. He misses us. Then again, who wouldn't?

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Brookeville, Md.: When did the Post start photographing Boys and Girls Basketball All-Mets together? They are two different teams, (Boys All-Mets and Girls All-Mets) why are they all mixed together for the photo?

Josh Barr: I'm pretty sure it's been done this way for some time. One of my favorite Post pictures was when the (1984?) team picture was taken at the White House with Ronald Reagan.

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Owings, Md.: What schools are eligible for All-Met consideration? My son swims for Northern High School in Calvert County, and I was wondering if the schools in Southern Maryland are even considered.

Josh Barr: Southern Maryland definitely is considered. Basically we try to cover from the Mason-Dixon line to the north, the Chesapeake Bay to the east, the West Virginia line to the west and past Fredericksburg to the south.

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Tarik El-Bashir: Thanks for all of the great questions today. We tried to answer as many as we could. Josh and I look forward to chatting with you in June after the spring All-Met comes out. Take care.

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washingtonpost.com: Washington Post staff writer Judith Evans was unable to join the discussion today, but thank you all for your questions and comments.

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