Wait. You mean it's over?

After going to the girls soccer game between Maize and Wichita Heights on April 16, I have to say that I was left frustrated. It is not because the game was boring or one-sided though.

The game went into double-overtime.

It was because after investing the 80 minutes of game time in regulation, plus the extra 20 minutes of game time in the two overtimes, the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

Was there a reason to even play this game? I suppose it’s the old glass that’s either half empty or half full I hear so much about. Of course, when a game ends in a tie, nobody loses. However, nobody wins either.

Winning isn’t everything in high school sports. It is much more important in high school than middle school, but learning to work as a member of a team, learning the importance of hard work in preparation for an event, having fun…etc, are important too.

Blah, blah, blah.

Look, nobody likes to lose. It’s not fun.

But sometimes more can be learned in a loss than a win. The measure of who we are as humans comes down to how we deal with adversity.

Ever met someone who has skated through life without ever having to deal with any kind of a rainy day?

Admit it. They make you want to puke, don’t they?

Steve Morse from the Bad Dog boxing gym in Wichita once told me the tough guys aren’t the ones who knock people out. The tough guys are the ones who get up and keep fighting after being knocked down.

You never can tell if an undefeated prospect has a real shot at a title until you see the fighter deal with adversity. It may come in the form of a knockdown, or even a knockout. It may just be a really bad cut. The ones who keep fighting through it are the ones who become champions.

So, here is my idea for a better version of high school soccer overtime, one that doesn’t waste everyone’s time with a tie.

First, keep the sudden death format. But either cut each of the periods in half so there are two five minute overtimes, or just go with one, 10 minute overtime.

Why shorter overtime periods?

According to KSHSAA, the maximum amount of overtime allowed in a regular season game is two 10-minute periods. So, with the extra 10 minutes saved, let’s get to the shootout and have some closure.

Someone wins and someone loses, the way competitions were meant to be.

With these rules, you could go to a hockey-style points system to determine league champions, and playoff seeding.

Just won a game? That’s two points added to your wins and losses season point total.

Lost in regulation? Sorry, but you don’t get any points.

Lost in overtime? You do get one point for losing in overtime, or in a shootout. Some credit for making it that far is due.

Plus, you are already guaranteed at least a point. So go for it in the sudden death portion. Push the attack. Time is short and losing one point isn’t as big a deal as the point you will gain if you get the goal in overtime.

Acquire the most points using these rules at the end of the season, you are a league champion. The teams with the most points in each side of the postseason bracket are the No. 1 seeds, and so on.

Of course using this point system will still require tiebreakers at the end of the regular season. There are a number of possible tiebreaker scenarios, that all end with a coin flip anyway, so get creative. Take it down to head-to-head if possible. Did you rack up the points with overtime losses or with wins? The team with the most wins takes the tiebreaker.

However you break the tie, make sure that it is broken for Pete’s sake.

At the end of the day, all I want is for there to be a different outcome at the end of the game than there was before the game started. It’s a competition, not friendly pick-up game where everybody has to quit in time for supper, right?