Saluting Their Feats, All-Mets Are Feted

Washington Wizards guard Roger Mason Jr. was on hand at The Washington Post's 24th annual All-Met Luncheon yesterday afternoon at the Grand Hyatt Hotel to receive the Distinguished All-Met Award and to salute All-Met players and coaches from the 2007-08 school year.

He also used the occasion to get something off his chest.

"I've sat where you all are, so congratulations to you all for being All-Met," said Mason, a Good Counsel graduate. "I was All-Met in '99, but in '98, I really wanted to be All-Met. I made [third] team. . . . I've got to be honest, it lit a fire under me."

The luncheon yesterday was not about those who fell short but those who thrived on Washington area fields, tracks, rinks and courses and in gymnasiums, pools and rivers during the school year. The Spring All-Met special section will appear in tomorrow's paper.

The 364 All-Met athletes and coaches in 2007-08 hailed from 132 schools. Robinson claimed the most with 11 honorees, including eight from the spring season. Osbourn Park had 10 All-Mets. Eleanor Roosevelt and T.C. Williams had nine each. DeMatha, Jefferson and Westfield had eight each.

Keynote speaker Jeff Jones, men's basketball coach at American University, joked that he wanted to deliver a grand pronouncement on the state of youth sports to all the athletes, parents and coaches in the audience. None struck him, but that yielded another observation.

"The things that we all need to remember are not big ideas, but a lot of simple ideas that we already know," Jones said. "Play hard. Play by the rules. Do your best. Respect your opponent. Win with class. Lose with dignity. Be a team player. Don't cheat."

St. Stephen's/St. Agnes field hockey coach Marsha Way won the Morgan Wootten Award, given annually to a coach for career and present-day accomplishments. Way's teams have gone 415-57-41, with 18 Independent School League championships in 23 years.

Joy Taylor won the Donald Huff Award, which recognizes high school sports contributors whose efforts go largely unacknowledged. Taylor, a community volunteer and director of membership for the D.C. Coaches Association, has helped spur facility, equipment and uniform upgrades for D.C. public school teams.

The Michael L. Trilling Award, given to male and female All-Mets whose grades and citizenship rival their athletic achievements, went to Jefferson soccer player Will Beckman and Severna Park field hockey player Allison Behringer.

Robinson Hires Coach

Robinson has hired Brian Nelson as boys' basketball coach. Nelson, 28, who posted a 31-18 record in three seasons as a junior varsity coach at Langley High School, is a graduate of Honeoye Falls-Lima High School in Rochester, N.Y., where he was also an assistant basketball coach from 1998 to 2004.

Nelson replaces Matt McKeag, who posted a 27-44 record and back-to-back Northern Region tournament berths before becoming the boys' basketball coach at Varina in Richmond.

"Matt did a great job here and really improved this program and made the region tournament two out of three, and I just want to build on the progress that he made," Nelson said.

Special correspondent B.J. Koubaroulis contributed to this report.