MBYLL SEASON UPDATE - 4/24/2020

MBYLL Families, Players & Coaches,

It is with great disappointment that we provide you with this notice about our cancellation of the 2020 spring season of town lacrosse. While we are working on plans and expectations for organized lacrosse this calendar year, we want you to understand what decisions have been made and why they have been made. The $40 annual MBYLL membership will not be refunded as a result of the regular season cancellation. Please read our full message for the explanation along with our vision for keeping lacrosse an important aspect of your social and athletic lives this year. Please note, your town program will be making decisions in the coming days regarding the fee you paid to them. Details and messaging will come from your town program.

The MBYLL Jamboree at Fort Devens, traditionally the largest youth lacrosse jamboree in the country, is still a possibility. The Devens Sports Commission has not cancelled our event and if we are able to utilize this weekend and their tremendous campus to play lacrosse, we will try and do so.

These are such unprecedented times and our hearts ache for the kids who just want to be outside playing with their friends: for the 8^th grader who was excited for one more year of town youth lacrosse, for all of us who love this sport and look forward to providing educational and life lasting lacrosse memories for our own kids and all the kids in our towns. What we do not want to happen is for kids give up on the sport, not try it for the first time, nor put their stick away until next spring. We also want to keep in mind the hardship families across the Commonwealth are going through.

When the Governor first announced the “Stay at Home” order, the board began preparing for the May 4th open date while at the same time preparing for this unfortunate situation. We heard from families that wanted the league to provide lacrosse whenever we were able to play, even into the summer or fall. We heard from those that want the league to provide opportunities but there would be limited participants due to other commitments. We also heard from those that were asking about refunds as their family was in need financially or they had concerns of team sports being played anytime this year.

We wanted to design a plan that addressed everyone’s interest and concerns. Next we looked at fees paid by families, paid by towns and expenses already incurred. Families pay $40 to MBYLL and a separate fee to their town program each year. The $40 player fee covers league operation costs that are mostly incurred prior to the start of the season. MBYLL procures year-long insurance for both players and coaches. This allows towns to run lacrosse programming outside of the spring season and also provides insurance for players for any lacrosse activities throughout the year – MBYLL events as well as non-league events.

To run one of the largest youth lacrosse leagues in the country, the Board and Regional Leaders meet throughout the year to plan the season. Contractors are hired to develop and run educational programs, provide online support for members, and to create the 2,500+ game schedule. The player fee also provides enhanced education for coaches and safety for all as the league produced coach education videos and webinars, along with conducting National Background Checks and administering an Abuse Prevention Training Course for all 1,500+ volunteer coaches.

With most of the player fees spent, the Board wanted to provide a way to help those in need of a financial refund. The best way to do this is to provide financial resources to the town programs to allow them to help those families in need. Most towns will be offering families several choices on their town program fee. These choices will range from being involved in summer and fall games and events, a credit towards future play, a donation to keep lacrosse in your town available, or partial refunds based on expenses incurred and full refunds to help those in financial need.

The short and long-term goals of MBYLL remain and we expect to provide lacrosse opportunities for 1st to 8th grade boys in Central and Eastern Massachusetts. What we are doing now is adapting for the health and safety of our 15,000+ players, coaches, and families. While our normal spring season is not feasible with the closing of schools and the public’s health at risk, we want to give flexibility and support for those towns that want to provide lacrosse activities in the summer or fall should the health experts declare it is safe.

These actions were approved under the financial guidance to remain a viable youth sports organization for the future, zero out our bottom line for fiscal year 2020, and use reserves to provide financial support to town programs.

The board still believes kids will need local, outdoor, affordable activities when officials say it is safe to do so. It may be more important than ever. We will be working with each Region and individual towns to find ways to create lacrosse experiences (practices, games, clinics, etc). We did not want to restrict your towns from thinking outside the box to provide activities outside of our normal season time frame. The board approved a fund from past years’ reserves to support activities this summer and fall.

Through actions it has taken over the past four years, the Board made sure that the league was on stable financial ground, better allocate resources and funds, and be able to continue to provide lacrosse opportunities in Massachusetts. In past years, unused funds have been wisely saved, and these will be the source to fund the MBYLL Town Lacrosse Preservation Fund. This fund will allow towns, regions and MBYLL to plan all manner of creative offerings to achieve the above stated goals.

More information on the support fund will be provided in the coming weeks to your town program leaders through regional meetings. We thank you for your understanding, cooperation, and support through this time. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out or direct to your town leaders so they may bring them up at regional meetings.

Stay healthy and safe.

On behalf of the volunteer Board of Directors,

-Jim Dalton, MBYLL President