Junior A Player Poll: the good, the bad, and the South Fraser Stickmen

June 10th, 2008 by Lauren Ward

For the entirety of the National Lacrosse League season we had the privilege of peeking into the minds of the pros on the topic of everything from fights and trash talk to refs and coaches. With summer ball in full swing it’s time to give another group of players the opportunity to tell you how they really feel in an anonymous survey.

The first topic the guys of Junior A have weighed in on is the seeming disparity between the top and bottom teams in their leagues. What can a team like the South Fraser Stickmen, who have been holding up the bottom of the B.C. standings since their 2005 brush with greatness, realistically do to improve their outlook? Does anything even need to be done? Maybe it’s not even a problem.

1. Every year in your league does it seem like the same group of teams are always in the top spots while another group of teams are always at the bottom?

A.	Yes	57.7%
B.	No	30.8%
C.	It’s not as bad this year	11.5%

“This year in the West sure the top teams are generally the same. A couple of the bottom teams could make some noise in the playoffs though.”

“Every year it’s the exact same with the Mounties and Raiders at the bottom of the league while the Miners and Eclipse [are on top].”

“There can be streaks but no definitely not. There is too much ‘new blood’ coming into the league which affects it as much as the ‘older blood’ graduating.”

2. Do you feel that the disparity between the ‘good’ teams and the ‘bad’ teams is a big issue facing Junior A lacrosse?

A.	Yes	46.2%
B.	No	38.5%
C.	No because my team is one of the good teams	15.4%

“I believe leagues rotate eventually (teams can’t be good forever) from ‘good’ to ‘bad’…except for those teams who have the money to keep or buy players. You know who I am talking about.”

“It’s getting better over the years.”

“Yeah cuz the RMLL gets no respect every year when they are up against the top teams in the country that spend a lot of money bringing guys in. If we played all the teams in Canada we wouldn’t be the worst I guarantee it.”

3. Should the league or whatever governing body step in and try to level the playing field?

A.	Yes	14.8%
B.	No	65.4%
C.	There are haves and have-nots in every sport at every level, might as well get used to it	22.2%

“Teams should have to step it up themselves…It’s Junior A. With practice, chemistry and recruitment any team can become a top team.”

“They have already implemented a midget draft to stop everyone going to Burnaby who is a free agent.”

“It needs to be more fair for the teams without all the money.”

4. Are players on the poorer teams at a disadvantage when it comes to opportunities to continue on in lacrosse? (Being drafted to the NLL, for example.)

A.	Yes, fair or not good players are expected to be on good teams	23.1%
B.	No, a good enough player will get a look no matter where he plays	65.4%
C.	Somebody has to play for the Rush	11.5%

“Lots of guys don’t get the same opportunities. Good players should excel on any team though.”

“Some sh**ty players put up good stats on sh**ty teams and that helps them get drafted… so for some guys its an advantage. Either you could be standing in the middle of the bench on the top team and get no burn or go to a s**t team and be a stud.”

5. Bottom line: what could a team like South Fraser or the Toronto Beaches do to improve their current situation?

A.	Start from the bottom up — work on the feeder system	59.1%
B.	Work on improving their reputation for how they treat players	3.7%
C.	Offer better ‘considerations’ to players for playing there	18.5%
D.	It’s the chicken and the egg: good players want to play for a winning team, can’t have a winning team without good players	14.8%
E.	None of the above	11.1%