Fighting for my rights. - Junior Hockey

Long story. I quit my tier III Jr team in January, the team wants me to pay for the rest of the season, Here's the kicker. I never signed a contract. The team is threatening to go to court with this. I have no interest in playing for another Jr team, just adult hockey for me. So I have several questions.
1.) Legally do I owe them anything?
2.) What kind of action will they take?
3.) Do they still own my rights, (since I never signed a contract).
4.) Will my teams rights to me expire?

Carl,
It is hard to answer the questions without having ALL the facts. Generally, we are able to work out a solution to
situations like this.

Do you owe them anything? How many games did your son play, and how much have you paid to date?

The team will own the rights, for USAH programs, until the
end of the season.

If there is a signed agreement, the case could be moved to
civil court.

Hey, there is nothing wrong with adult league hockey. That is exactly where most end up five years after junior. Many are able to really enjoy the game again when playing without all the pressure.

Stephen

It's me that played on the team, I'm a '92. I'm really looking forward to adult hockey, playing just for the love of the game. Ok here is the complete long story drama free.

I started playing for my team in mid October, We had a verbal agreement over the phone that I would pay $5725 for the rest of the season, $2,000 grand up front and $500 a month until I reached $5725 at the end of the season. I paid the $2,000 up front and paid for one month, (November) and fell a little behind. I left the team in early January after playing 16 games and paying a total of $2,500. So yes I still owe for half of October, all of December, and a little less then half for January; about $1,000. But of course they want the whole $3,225. I told them I'm not willing to pay for the time after I quit the team and haven't heard back yet.

Again I never signed any kind of contract or document, the transactions were cash, and completely off the record.

Since the team still owns my rights I will probably be unable to play for an USA adult program until next season correct?

Also thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, this is a great help.

Carl,
Call me today. I may be able to help you.

Stephen
832-445-9983

From LAW.com

Oral Contract:
"an agreement made with spoken words and either no writing or only partially written. An oral contract is just as valid as a written agreement. The main problem with an oral contract is proving its existence or the terms. As one wag observed: "An oral contract is as good as the paper it's written on." An oral contract is often provable by action taken by one or both parties which is obviously in reliance on the existence of a contract. The other significant difference between oral and written contracts is that the time to sue for breach of an oral contract (the statute of limitations) is sometimes shorter. For example, California's limitation is two years for oral compared to four for written, Connecticut and Washington three for oral rather than six for written, and Georgia four for oral instead of 20 for written."

As a Parent, I teach my children about making good on their commitments, once you sign up for something, you are expected to fulfill your commitment. I don't understand your reasoning behind leaving this team. But whatever it is, it is never good to quit on a team and your teammates. Season is almost over, you wanted to play for the team and they put you on the roster. My son has played on losing (0-20-0) teams, but saw it as an opportunity to work on his game and improve his skill set, not walk out on his team.

Here is a link to look at the Junior Rosters for all of the leagues, if you are on the Roster, you will be there till the end of the USA Hockey Season...And depending on the District, they will put you on a "Non-Pay" list that is distributed to every Rink within the District. You might be able to sneak on an Adult team, but since Men's leagues are also registered under USA Hockey, you might be denied a spot on a team..

You paid money to play and you were rostered by a Junior team, I think a 2nd year law student could successfully argue this case against you and win this case in civil court.

http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV

No player named Carl Parent on a USA roster.