AYSA has never provided trophies except for last year because which we had a sponsor. So to say that we have given them in the past is not true.
Is it just me or is this contradictory?
No, it is not because AYSA did not provide the trophies, someone else did - the sponsor. My son and their team has received a trophy every year for every sport because I ordered the trophies and then the parents pitched in for them. However, in doing this each year I have stopped (as of this year) because I can no longer afford to pay for more than half the trophies most of the time. Usually I get about 1/3 of the parents to pitch in and then rest has been at my expense. Personally, I would rather have a nice jersey instead of he trophy. I let them wear their uniforms for purple/white fridays and then when they are too small I put them away for them in a chest or for instance their allstar/state tournament jerseys from this year I am going to frame in a shadow box with some pictures. There are alternatives to trophies we just need to be creative.
Here is another personal note so folks will understand where I am coming from. I would love to provide each player with some sort of keepsake for their year - personally I have tried to change it because I did not understand either. But our organization has a lot of scholarship kids; plus we try to keep our fees down so people can afford to play so when you register your child it just does not go to the uniform - there are so many other things we have to pay for that most people fail to think of. Let's take basketball for instance. When you pay $75 you get a uniform that has to be double sided and shorts. a secondary accident/liability insurance policy for all players and league, new basketballs because either we don't get them back or if we do they have holes, we have to pay for use of the gyms during the week for practices and game days, plus their are league fees, and then referee fees. When it is all said and done the $75 is used up and then the fundraiser money kicks in to cover the rest of the costs. We have researched all the surrounding small towns and big cities - we are the least expensive and we are striving to stay that way because we know that most of our citizens are going through tough times. So please don't think we are just mean spirited or that we just don't care because we do and we are trying to do what is right by the child, the parent, the leagues we play in, and our organization.
We want every child to be able to participate and have an enjoyable experience but for now we have to emphasis the experience and the memories and hopefully as time goes on we can figure something out for a separate award.
