Comments on: The Great Nationals Debate http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/ Everything you always wanted to know about, find out about or just talk about lacrosse. Sat, 26 May 2012 23:59:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Anonymous http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-755 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:50:35 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-755 thought I should answer a couple of things that Chantale said in her post. I took a team to Peterbourgh quite a few years ago for the Peewee Nationals from the west coast and the cost worked out to about $2000 a player. And you should know at the beginning of the lacrosse season whether your team has a chance to be the Provincial Champion so fund raising could begin then. If the tournament was opened up to include that wanted to attend, but were not Provincial Champions, then your team could still travel and be part of the tournament.

If the National tournament were to be opened up to other teams that wanted to travel to the tournament and take part, I would anticipate it could grow to a 20 or 30 team tournament. Think about all the parents and players watching all of the final games!!! The arena would be packed!!
And that would be just the Peewee National Tournament. The Bantam National Tournament could be held on the other side of the country at the same time to save the cost of travelling.

I believe that the poster was trying to make the point that the weaker teams, and the organizers know who they are, should not have to play against teams the have that many more times their skill level. It could be organized so that they are playing teams that they are competitive with or have a bit more skill.

]]> By: Anonymous http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-746 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 04:37:43 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-746 Hey Mark….thanks to you for keeping us all informed on the progress of the tournament. Some of us might have our differences with others about how things should be run to benefit the most kids, but I think we are all in agreement that your site was the best by far in providing us with how the games were being played. Your video of some of the games was fantastic!!

Hope to keep in touch.

Thanks again

]]> By: Chantale http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-745 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 04:31:52 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-745 I think that some of you are forgetting that the teams that go to Nationals, with the exception of teams that can drive, operate on a budget of about $50,000. I know, I managed the peewees from Saskatchewan last year. It cost each kid $2000 to go. They weren’t provincial champions but the team that won provincials would have had less than a month to raise that amount of money. Impossible! What people have to realize is that lacrosse is very different from province to province. My two boys have both gone to nationals and this is the first time we haven’t gone in 3 years. If we, in our province, were to send a provincial champion, my boys would have never been able to have this opportunity because we come from a city that has less than 200 kids in lacrosse from tyke to junior. Ithink the provinces like Saskatchewan, Manitoba, etc. are approaching it the right way. We don’t have lacrosse year round here and we are sending the best of what we have that choose to try out. Now lets face it. The cost turns a lot of families off of going. We don’t have the corporate sponsorship opportunities that even provinces like Alberta have not to mention many others. And just to mention about whether teams would want to lbe embarrassed 30-2 or lose 15-2 but not get a game as mentioned in the post. Show us the respect of playing the whole game. We gain experience from it. Last year it was a disgrace when that was done. The parents for the team that was stronger were embarrassed that the game was played that way. I hope it didn’t happen this year. We know we have a lot to learn in this great game.

]]> By: marksy http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-744 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 02:53:17 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-744 Hey Mustang, you are right it is a little off toipc, but I must acknowedge and thank you for your post. The Novice Coach was Rob Dyment, a friend of mine, and I’m the Coach of the Peewee team that came.

Your comments are appreciated and I think I can speak for both when I say that we did have a great time while we were there.

]]> By: Mustang http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-743 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 02:44:04 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-743 I’ve been talking amongst Calgary lax folks since July and now have an opportunity to say here – what a class act the teams from Whitby were at Calgary’s Canada Day tournament. So impressed were we at the level of play and sportsmanship demonstrated by those young players and their coaches that we hope to see you all again next year – sorry for the off topic, was enjoying the thread but just had to say.
Best in Lax,
from Calgary

]]> By: Coach http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-740 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:52:12 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-740 It will not open it to more kids. It will simply cater to the larger more established clubs. Whitby and Halton Hills, The Titans and Warriors, Coquitlam and New West.

The other clubs players will never see a Nationals so how does that expose more players. Go to a Tournament in the other Provinces if you want to expose your club team to have an out of Province experience.

Ontario kicked everyones buts in BC when Bantam was there. I am in the West and as such the host and humidity issues are irrelevent. Having 40,000 reistered players is relevant compared to Albertas 9,000 or BC`s 20,000.

Ontario is a step ahead…..for now. That landscape is a changing slowly but surely and Ontario deserves alot of credit for taking on the monumental task of organizing and steping up to be host. Where else is there a venue so perfect for the festival style event.

A travel equalization program will follow soon.

There are only 3 True Nationals. The Minor Nationals are Nationals in a Provincial invitational format.

Why did Nationals die before? Cost and committment. The MA`s committ very early on to attend. How does a club committ when they dont even know what there teams going to consist of or whether they will have the numbers to do it. This way we have gauranteed attendance.

]]> By: Maureen Jomha http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-736 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:41:12 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-736 I agree with what anonymous has said. Changing to a club format with different levels( a b and c for instance ) would open it up to more kids to share in the Nationals experience. The way it is now …it is pretty much the same 20 kids picked each year which means only 18 kids from each province at each age group will ever get this experience.Furthermore Ontario is always at an advantage as they have home court advantage and are used to playing in high humidity.Also with the present format Ontario gets to select its team from a larger pool but with club format the the weaker teams could be allowed to pick up 3 more players to help equalize the copetition. Maybe? just a thought

]]> By: Anonymous http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-735 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:23:35 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-735 The “coach” said it above – it is not a true “Nationals” because the Provicial champs are not represented. This is just a tournament for some to find out who are the best players in the country. If a tournament were held and Provincial Champions were invited in each division to compete with each other and you also included other teams from across the country to compete against teams of equal calibre in their own grouping, then you would have a “National” tournament.

“lacrosse mom” says above that we should continue to play the way we are so that all kids will get a chance to play. More of a chance to play if you are on a club team and came to a tournament like this. If you are an individual with great skills and are not playing with and against “top” players all year round then you will not make one of these teams that are playing in these Nationals. Especialy from B.C., Ontario, Alberta or the Iroquois. Most of the “rural” kids get cut by coaches during the first and second tryouts and never make the final camps.

Let’s get on to these “member association” and let them know we want a true Nationals. Change the format and maybe change the venue every second year so it isn’t as costly for some to travel to them.

]]> By: marksy http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-734 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 17:49:06 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-734 Great discussion on this folks, obviously there are pros and cons to the idea. I guess what my thought process was is as follows:

My opinion (maybe wrong) is that the National Championships are a showcase, an effort to expose the game of lacrosse to more kids in each province. If that is the case, then would it not be a good idea to “open up” this tournament to “more kids”. I understand it would not the “best of the best”, but when talking about 12 -14 year olds should it be about seeing the “best of the best” or should it be about recruiting more kids to play, and experience the week long spectacle these kids are experiencing? Yes, they can take that back to their member associations, but they could also “be here with” their member associations.

Can you imagine what the Junior and Senior / Major Series lacrosse would be like if the Minor associations across the country had thousands more playing at the grass roots level?

Does anyone out there know the numbers of kids that tried out in other Provinces? In Ontario there were 200-300 for Peewee and very similar for Bantam. To me that says that there is interest there for the equivalent of almost 20 teams. Now that might be a high number because it was here in Ontario, but I’m eager to hear the number of tryouts from other Provinces. That to me, would be an indicator of how many families were interested in travelling and playing at this type of tournament.

]]> By: Lacrosse Mom http://lacrosseinsidethegame.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-731 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 17:10:10 +0000 http://lacrosseinsidethegame.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-great-nationals-debate/#comment-731 I don’t agree with club teams going to Nationals. I think when you get the best of the best trying out and making the teams then you see the best lacrosse being played. Some kids who are very talented and gifted players play for smaller associations who don’t have that high calibre of play and will never get the oppurtunity to play at such a high level. Continue the way you are and that way kids from all over will get an oppurtunity to play with kids all at the same level. Tis gives them equal oppurtunity and goal to work towards. Some provinces are always going to be stronger as the game is larger there and has been played longer. If you go back to club teams it will probably be mostly Ontario teams and BC teams and not true representation of what talent there is in our Nation playing our National Summer Sport.
Just my thoughts.

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