Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
4th grade soccer , 4th grade football, even CYO basketball is competitive, why do people have a problem with Lax?


No problem with Lax. PAL Lacrosse's purpose is developmental. CYO basketball and travel soccer have tryouts and is not developmental. PAL has its purpose, if you don't like it, don't have your son play it.


PAL is competitive because it's based on children playing sports. Football and lax have different divisions so that stronger players play in stronger division and weaker players play in weaker divisions. That's the model. And it works. Most towns have evaluations starting in 4th grade (for many players, this is year 4) to allow the more advanced kids to play other advanced kids while allowing the newer/developmental players to compete against similar players. This model gives every player an opportunity to play and enjoy the game while enhancing/advancing their skill set (regardless of where that level is). There is no relationship between PAL and travel. They are mutually exclusive. Some parents don't want to put their children on travel teams. Some children don't want to play on them. some can't afford an extra $4000 per child. Are there travel teams for football? No. So, by your argument, those kids should have no competitive outlet to play the sport? That makes no sense. Sports are competitive. Maybe you should just enroll your child in clinics. That seems like what you're looking for.