In team sports, regardless of the sport, the squad is made up of many individuals. Sure, there may be some obvious spectacular players that excel and stand out above the others, but a team will only succeed through the combined efforts of all of its players. One single player, no matter how outstanding—with rare exceptions such as Greg Oden, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan—can't do it all.

We always explain to our high school athletes that the team’s effort overcomes great individual performances. In addition, we appeal to athletes to push individual goals and possibly recognition to the back and place the team first. However, we then contradict all of those messages by holding postseason all-star games that recognize individual accomplishments.

Of course, my background as a long-time basketball coach also comes into play. While I had a number of excellent players during my 24 years on the bench, each team’s MVP could never do it alone. Whether it was having someone reliable to handle the ball, or teammates to share the rebounding and defensive burden with, neither the team—or its star—would shine without everyone contributing.

Proponents of all-star games often feel these events bring recognition, exposure, and sometimes even scholarship opportunities to the participants. But in most cases, each team’s talented athletes are recognized throughout the season by the media. After all, the leading scorer or outstanding players always get mentioned. It is the other teammates that are left out

When it comes to athletic scholarships, with today’s Internet and media coverage, recruiting services, alumni referrals, and a host of other networking scenarios, outstanding athletes are not overlooked and don’t need all-star games to gain their due recognition. Even at the NCAA Division III and NAIA levels, there are very few players that go unnoticed as high schoolers.

If we are interested in recognition and increasing exposure to college coaches, it would be better if we had a postseason event for those role players who do the dirty work for the superstars. Obviously, this idea wouldn’t be embraced by many, but it is certainly a logical alternative. Think of it as a role player appreciation game.

Of course, many all-star games may be tied in with a charity or fundraising effort. Understandably, these efforts would be affected if all-star games were eliminated, but any revenue shortfall could be replaced by good old-fashioned car washes, bake sales and spaghetti dinners—but that’s another column.

If we truly believe in the concept of the team, and the importance of sacrificing individual glory for the benefit of the team, then all-star games just don’t fit that ideal. And besides, have you ever seen a well-played all-star game in terms of execution? Sure, in basketball you may get a lot of dunks, fast breaks and flashy plays, but is it ‘good’ basketball? I guess that’s for you to decide, but I think it’s a good idea for us all to start questioning the value of all-star games at the high school level.

David Hoch, EdD, CMAA, is the Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Md. He is past President of the Maryland State Athletic Directors’ Association and a frequent contributor to Athletic Management. He can be reached at: dhoch@bcps.org.