LETTERS: WOODLAND TEAM DIDN'T GET RECOGNITION IT DESERVED

To the editor:

I am writing in regard to the article by Jeff Breer, "Woodland wins district title," in the Oct. 26 edition of the Southeast Missourian. First, I thought that a picture of the winning team is usually put in the paper. I found it very strange to see a picture of a Notre Dame player under the headline telling that Woodland won the district title.

Secondly, I don't believe that all of the members of the Woodland team received the recognition that they deserved. Only one team member was given the accolades warranted by the occasion. Emily Johnson is a great player. No matter how good an athlete is though, she cannot be a one-person team. I feel that was the connotation given to the article. The other members of the team were referred to as a "nice supporting cast." A team has to work together and equally share responsibility. One paragraph in the article stated that "The only mistake the Lady Bulldogs might have made was to allow Johnson into the Notre Dame gymnasium." What about the rest of the Woodland team? I also thought it was inappropriate of Notre Dame's coach, Helen Payne, to say, "In fact, she's the only one that really hurt us." That made it sound like the other team members didn't even need to be there. Four to five paragraphs in a row were devoted entirely to Emily Johnson. That was wonderful. She deserved it. The rest of the team should have gotten that much coverage. Woodland has more than one good volleyball player, and every one of them deserves to be acknowledged.

CHRISTY BOLLINGER

Marble Hill