If you make a donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer
 Foundation, please mention "lacrosse" in a note with
 the donation. At my request, in memory of my wife
 Brenda, the CBCF will then direct the funds to a
 facility seeking a "cure", rather than a "control".

I hear your pain... by Tsitshoh (Login tsitshoh)

She:kon Bob,

It seems that you are caught in the vortex of 'if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.'  It is not right, but it is a reasonable response when we look at the big picture.

Most people know that the OMFLL has faced some pretty important challenges these past few years - maybe 4 or 5 years now due to a significant growth curve in youth field lacrosse.  These challenges have taxed the resources of the volunteer base to the point where there is only enough time for that volunteer base to just get by on a per season basis.  I suspect that once the minor field season is over, most of the volunteers have to quickly turn their attention to box and are so glad to get out of the spring field season that they want a break from talking about what is wrong with minor field.  And this dialogue gets picked up again at the AGM long after the experience of the present year has faded and spring field has been pleasantly idealized again.

One of the contributing factors is that while there has been a growth in centres participating in field, and they have their own volunteer situations to deal with, there doesn't seem to be the same growth in the resources available to the league overall.  This is not a knock on the folks running the league now - I know a bunch of them - they are dedicated, hard working and have all the best intentions towards youth and lacrosse.  Add this to the escalating growth in other spring field sports, the competition for fields, the undue influence soccer has over municipal field use and we end up with the present situation that many people have experienced and many have commented on here.

In fact, the problems are so consistent from year to year, they are predictable.  I certainly do not have the benefit of your (or many others) experience, just a few years, but I think the present situation was predictable.

Anyhow... since the league does not have the adequate resources available, then corners have to be cut, expectations have to be lowered, schedules have to change at the last minute, etc., and pretty soon the resources that are available are spent on the symptoms - trying to put out fires, trying to reduce the overall effects on peoples lives, trying to balance the work required with running the league and trying to raise a family, actually doing work at work and seeking some free time to simply chill out and watch TV without the constant guilt of letting people down.

When people are trying to deal with a chronic situation in which they are able to address immediate symptoms only - and at that on very tight timelines - and then they are the targets of constant criticism of something everyone knows is a problem, well then, how would you expect them to react?  I don't mean to knock your opinions - many of which are pretty darn good and insightful - but I think it is reasonable for the league folks to get their backs up when they are doing the best they can with the paltry resources they have in which to do it.

I think the biggest problem facing the OMFLL at this point - and it is a make or break proposition - is that we are on the brink of a change for either the better or the worse.  But we all recognize that the status quo is no longer satisfactory and may actually hinder the growth and spread of grass-roots field lacrosse in Ontario.  Changing tradition, especially in lacrosse is no easy task!  It can be done and I believe, must be done, but how is another topic entirely.  I believe the first step is to identify and start addressing the problems with long term growth in mind instead of spending all the seasonal resources on the immediate symptoms.  This might require a commitment immediately following the end of the season from several levels of lacrosse administration in Ontario.  But I think it would be worth it don't you?

Finally, and I apologize for running on, I think that to inspire an immediate off-season commitment to addressing the problems of spring field lacrosse from the OMFLL executives and volunteer base, there needs to be a input of energy into this final weekend.  Enough positive energy, despite the problems and symptoms thus far, that these folks have enough left in the tank even for a few more meetings to gather data and make a few key recommendations in November that can counteract that idealism that befalls spring field many months after the fact and ultimately hinders change.  And I am afraid a simple pat on the back for those folks might not be enough...

I am sure that if centres and teams, groups of parents and players put their heads together on this one they can come up with some ideas to alleviate the stress and give something back despite the hassles and stress they have experienced.  There must be some things that the people receiving this gift can do, that can revitalize the gift giver, if only for a short while.

Any ideas?

Skennen

...Tsitshoh...