Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Ahh, another season of PAL lax in the books. Another season of PAL allowing towns not to abide by it's own rules. It is not fair to the towns who do follow them, and yes there are a few of us out there that still do. Far and few between but we do exist. This is supposed to be a fun, town vs. town league. It has turned into, try and put the best team together with any kids you can find and go play the team that the other town can put together. This is not and was never intended to be club lacrosse, if that's what you want then go play lacrosse for one of the many clubs out there, I am sure they will be more than glad to take your money. PAL has got to stop the parents and directors who feel THEY can run this league how THEY see fit and either start to punish the towns who do not follow the rules or expel them from playing in the league. There needs to be some sort of age and residency verification put in place, because the "honor" system is not working. It was another season of coaches putting their teams in a lower division because they need all the mommies and daddies to feel good about themselves watching little Johnny play against much weaker opponents. Another season of kids playing for more than one "town team", but the parents and coaches don't care because it helps little Johnny win games and if that's not happening the emails will fly. PAL also needs to do a better job or come up with a better system for placing teams, if a team goes undefeated in a season, they are in the wrong division and should be playing up a division. Many teams stay in the B or C division just to ensure a winning record. I have a lot more respect for a town that tries to challenge their kids and not coddle them. Maybe one day the "adults" will just get out of the way and stop ruining local youth sports, but I doubt it.

PAL in the past was actually much more competitive as only the best kids from each town made the travel teams and the rest played the rec league.
Now anyone who signs up can play travel, although many parents like this its far from a productive use of time for upper development. Have you notices how many new clubs pop up every year? PAL is a dinosaur and many expect its role in development will continue to diminish over the years.


Exactly right. One significant reason for the emergence of so many club teams is that PAL does not meet the needs of the more competitive or developed player.