By Anthony Rifilato
"We recieved two responses," said PAL Pres. Bob Cuccio. Cuccio explained that the problem has become even worse.
The number of PAL officials has dwindled from 60 in 1998 to 21 in 2002, 15 of which are on the executive board. The PAL is stretched particularly thin when it comes to commisioners, who run sports divisions. Over the past 30 years, PAL has lost 100 commissioners. Officials said they need at least 50 more volunteers to help run an organization with over 5,000 children.
"We need fresh blood, " Cuccio said. "This year was one of our largest registrations [of kids]. It reached the point where we had to stop registration because we didn't have enough help."
With the recent strains on the Nassau County budget and a slew of police retirements and reassignments resulting in a lack of available police officers, Cuccio said the limited pool of volunteers -- which the PAL has always relied on -- has created a crevice that may tear to the point of eliminating many activities.
Cuccio said that while not many programs have been cut and that the league has an ample amount of coaches, the league is in need of volunteers to fill administrative positions, which involve everything from organizing laegues to general office work. Many people have retired, Cuccio said, because they have been members for 30 years and have grown children now.
In the past year, the PAL has lost its soccer commissioner (since replaced), has dismantled its twirling program which had 90 girls, and may possibly lose its roller hockey division if its commissioner, Ben Zinn, retires.
Once someone retires, someone else has to pick up the slack if no one new steps up to the plate, or the division can fold. For instance, Cuccio is serving as basketball and baseball commisioner because he has not been able to find a replacement.
That's an enormous freight to haul for one person -- the two sports attract over 1,000 kids. Usually, Cuccio said, serving as commissioner would not be a problem if he had a subdivision commissioner, who serve as a PAL representative and oversees the games, coaches, etc. But the lack of volunteers has resulted in an absence of subdivision commissioners in many sports. That means Cuccio is going to all the games, many scheduled on the same days.
"You need to have that pool of people to pull from," said Cuccio. "Instead of doing the commissioner jobs, we can do a lot more for kids because we'd have time to do administrative work."
The PAL coordinates more than just games. There are the Halloween parties, awards ceremonies, parades, and the intricacies of running a non-profit organization such as securing grants and handling insurance. "All that requires work," Cuccio said.
He is not the only one feeling the pinch.
"We need help with scheduling and supervising the gyms," said PAL Vice President Ron Trimboli, who also serves as softball commissioner. "We need people to watch the programs and handle irate parents or coaches."
The lack of volunteers has spilled over into other areas.
For its Halloween parties, Trimboli said the PAL used to create a haunted house for the kids, which they no longer do. It also has been hard-pressed to help the needy, and often had youth volunteers make house calls to the elderly.
Many people also used to volunteer their expertise, such as Jeri Ainbinder, who recently brought her martial arts skills to the PAL and teaches girls' judo. But Cuccio said Ainbinder is a rarity within PAL.
"We could probably take more kids if we had more volunteers," Cuccio said.
Ideally, PAL officials said they would like more parents to get involved. Two months ago, the PAL had an open house in an attempt to recruit parents and entice them to monthly meetings. Trimboli said one person showed.
"Everybody has two jobs these days," Trimboli said. "They're running around. It's a different environment."
