What towns are entering the PAL league, this Spring? Or, which towns are not? At this age, the numbers start to dwindle, as the kids get older. Anybody got some strong numbers?
My town has no issues getting kids to play PAL through 6th grade; the struggle starts in 7th and 8th grades, but that is to be expected with the boys all playing school ball. But even then, we usually still have teams for the MS boys, and they largely just show up to play games on Sundays - no practices once MS starts theirs.
How many kids you have at the 6th grade? Compare that to 2nd grade. How many less/more do you have now compared to then?
First off, we're a small town. 6th grade has been a problem because we have had 25+, pretty much the same number since their first year - some faces have swapped here and there, but numbers have been consistent. But, that's too many for one team, not enough to split into two. It's been hard for all of the travel players who play PAL because they either are all out together, and then when they come out, the talent level falls off a cliff, or they get mixed in with the other players and those players can't throw and catch well enough for those boys, although I have to say, they do it and don't complain, so good for them. But as parents, it's hard to watch the games because of the unevenness of it all, either way.
Wow. Small town that consistently gets 25 kids. That's pretty good. Everyone is in the same boat, in regards to your travel kids/town kids scenario. Some of these town kids, after 7 or 8 years, still can't catch the ball. Big-time difference. Have you tried combining with the grade either below or above, and creating A and B teams that way. Sounds like you could create three teams that way.
