PAL is dying. Plain and Simple. Yes you get a town here or there that can put something together and make it work, but the majority does not. Complaining parents, uncommitted kids that show up randomly to practices etc. If your kid wants to play this sport and I mean really wants to play, your best bet is the travel circuit. PAL puts kids on the field that don't belong playing together and that creates a major problem. I understand the $ it costs and that its not doable by some, but the sport as a whole needs to recognize what can happen at this level. You get a defenseman who plays on a tier 1 travel team go up against a kid who only picks up his stick 1 or 2 times a week on PAL, he's either going to get trampled or hurt. What's the sense of it. Than the coaches get the backlash because "my kid should be coached on how to deal with that defenseman" on the flip side I have to watch my sons face as he leaves a field upset from the lack of effort from some his teammates who really don't want to be there. Listen mom and dad if your kid picks up a stick to go to practice and then puts it down until next practice, he's not into the sport. Period. Take some responsibility for this. For those who have a kid that wants to get better, and wants to be on the field, the coaches and players are a much better fit at the Travel level. As much as I want PAL to work the sport has grown so fast that Travel has made itself the place where kids who want it can go out and get it without having to deal with a kid who is just out there because his dad played back in the day and rarely picks up a stick. Didn't make the rules here but its obvious what s going on. Writing those checks is sometimes painful, but the difference in my sons Travel team to his PAL team is light years and I think its worth it. Skill wise. coaching wise, teammate wise and overall IQ wise.
