The Westlock Junior Rock will not field a team this year due to a lack of players.
The decision came after the roster was not filled by the Feb. 1 deadline for the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL) season.
The team needed at least 12 players and a goalie, but was only able to get seven players and a goalie.
While teams occasionally miss seasons because of a lack of players, coaching director Brian Hegedus said this was a first for the junior-level team.
“It seems like every second year, this age-group moves up to the next level,” he said. “With the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council (GELC), it was the same problem.
“When we had the midgets two years ago, it was the same thing. We didn’t have enough kids to register. So now that level of kids that didn’t play that year is now missing a turn here.”
While there will be no Westlock-based team, athletes between 16-21 who want to play are not shut out. Hegedus noted that there was a possibility that a player could join another team in the RMLL.
“They have the option to, they can ask another team to join,” he said.
“Though then they’ll have to deal with travelling to be able to play with that team. I’m not sure which teams in the area that would accept a player.
“Most likely a team in Edmonton would take a junior player if he was interested. He would just have to get out of the lease from Westlock to play for another team.”
Hegedus said he had not heard if any players were considering that route, however.
“There was quite a few guys disappointed. They were pretty upset about the fact they couldn’t play this year,” added Hegedus.
“I know my son, he’s a first year junior this year, so he’s pretty upset. But he’s going to look at other opportunities out there, he might even step into being a helper on the bench with some of the lower teams.”
He stressed that this was a one-time event and that the Junior Rock would be back next year.
“We had to take away the junior program for this year only,” he said. “We’re be sure to have a team ready for next year.”
He also noted that the younger teams are going strong, with the GELC having somewhat more lax regulations.
“We have four teams at every level in the GELC,” said Hegedus. “They have until March 1 to get early registration in. After that they can still register, but there’s a $100 late fee. But the kids are coming in.”
