Hello all - now that I have figured out how to post a new thread I don't have to steal someone else's. My son is going into U13 next year (05) and has been offered a spot on the third team of one of the top two clubs in the area with the coach saying that he will be moved up to the second team. He also has been offered a spot in a smaller club's pre-ecnl team. Is the ecnl team the obvious choice? Any downside to pre-ecnl? Thanks all for any insight on this
Like I have said in another thread, watch the numbers of players in the smaller club. If 4-5 players decide to move on, a club with one team could be in trouble.
He's got to go where he thinks he's going to have the most fun and learn the most. I had to work hard to remind myself that ultimately, he's an 11 yo kid. We switched clubs with my '05 after his first travel season mainly for coaching reasons, but also because he wasn't having a lot of fun and it showed in his play. We were lucky in that he had friends that already had made the switch to the new club the previous year and he was welcomed into the fold very quickly. Went from being told he was moving to a B team player on a sub-.500 club to an A team player on (what we think) is a top club in our area and 90% of it was his confidence and having fun. Does he have friends in either club? Does either club have a reputation for coaches leaving? Coaching changes are hard too.