I realize it is 'just' high school lax but I think all the teams would benefit from 'power' conferences as you would be playing teams of closer abilities; much like how tournament brackets at travel tournaments try to be. If you have a girl who lights it up day in and day out against the top competition, good for her! I mentioned this a couple of years ago and that they did this in soccer in Suffolk and wouldn't you know it, Section XI got rid of that league. We all know that girls get noticed playing travel but that's not gonna stop people's opinions about padding stats or running up the score during hs.
I place the blame on this squarely on the backs of the Athletic Directors on Long Island. As far as lacrosse goes, the only power conference that exists is for girls in Nassau County.
This year teams who had very good success playing on a lower division were moved up into the A division. Personally I'd much rather see a team go .500 in the top division then going undefeated in a lower division and having 12 or 14 blowout wins. Well that is exactly what is going on in Suffolk (boys and girls) and in Nassau boys. Besides out of conference games - the competition in girls in Suffolk is terrible. As an example, Mt. Sinai - a very good team - is 4-0 right now and have had only one really close game a 5-3 win over ESM. MS has 54 goals for and only 18 against. Middle Country is 4-0 and have outscore opponents 76-28. ESM is 4-1 and have outscored 62-27. Huntington is 3-0 and have outscored opponents 42-18.
On the other hand look at some of the lower ranked schools and see how mismatched they are: Walt Whitman, Brentwood, Deer Park, etc.
It's not that hard to figure this out. There are 47 schools in Suffolk. Create 5 divisions: A - 9 teams B - 9 Teams C- 9 Teams D- 10 Teams E - 10 Teams
At the end of the year, the bottom 2 teams in A move to B the next year and the top two teams in B move to A. Same thing happens down the line. When playoffs come - everyone goes back to their school sizes and you have power rankings based on performance.
Simple plan - east to enact and easy to track.
Result: closer games, better games and fewer blowouts. Coaches will need to be better and work harder to develop the whole team rather than just 1-2 players.
