If high school athletes haven't learned the lesson yet, they will soon – the world is not always fair.

You win some, you lose some.

You lose some you should have won.

You win some you should have lost.

Athletics is often used as a metaphor for life. For student-athletes, there is no bigger time of the season than now – conference and state playoffs time.

Teams that have put forth the effort and achieved the required results should continue playing by the rules set by the North Carolina High School Athletics Association.

There is no need for change. There is the need to give these athletes a chance until there are no more games to play.

Currently, the top four spring sports teams in girls' soccer, softball and baseball from each conference make the state playoffs. Some might argue that only the top half or first- and second-place teams should make the playoffs.

Wrong.

Take a look at the NEW 6 Conference regular-season softball standings. Three of the top four teams finished with records better than .500 in the league play. A system that values only the top two teams in the regular season would dismiss a team like Southern Nash, which finished third. The Ladybirds earned a regular-season victory over Northern Nash, the league's top team, and the two squads will play tonight for the conference tournament championship.

Life is an opportunity. Conference tournaments and state playoffs games give these youngsters just that. A senior can wear a Gryphons, Bulldogs, Cougars, Knights or Firebirds jersey at least one more time. With postseason victories, their careers are extended because they excelled at the right moment. They are coached to believe that the season isn't over, no matter what error, strikeout or missed goal happened during the regular season.

"You can't look at it as 'our season is over,'" Nash Central athletics director Michael Mosley said. "I tell them, you have the opportunity. You might as well take advantage of it. Hopefully, you are ready for it."

Sixty-four teams in each division, 1-A, 2-A, 3-A and 4-A, have the chance to win a state championship. Sure, there will be mismatches. Some will take bus rides a few hours only to be beaten so bad it can't possibly hurt any more.

But these are teenagers. They can forget about the last game in the blink of a text message. Sometimes teams do not click until they have played 20 games together. Southern Nash's baseball team won the NEW 6 Conference baseball tournament two years ago as a No. 5 seed. A title was their only ticket to the state playoffs. In a magical three-night stretch, they won each game by one run.

"Mathematically, it gave them something to play for," Firebirds coach Jeff Flowers said. "I told them, 'If we get it together for three nights, we can still go.'"

There's nothing wrong with letting teams play. The game is still won on the field where the team with the most talent combined with effort will be crowned champions.

No, life is not always fair, but our playoffs system does give these youngsters a fair shake.

Sports writer Jessie H. Nunery can be reached at 407-9951 or jhnunery@coxnc.com