Choosing club after school year starts?

[Nova2Euro]

Moving to the area for the second time. Coming from Europe, where my U11 plays in a club. Family won't arrive until mid-summer, so already missing tryouts. I'm thinking to wait until after he starts school so that he can meet some friends, find out where they play, and then go to that club/team.

Anyone else ever try doing this? If so, did you run into any particular issues?
We'll probably miss games for most of the autumn in any case--might take a while to get the player registration back to the US.

[NoYou]

The top teams almost all have a spot open for a new arrival, but to get that spot, your kid has to basically be a starter-level player (i.e. the top 11). They won't put you in roster #18 when there are kids on the second team who probably deserve a shot.

I do agree with your strategy of making friends and finding a mutual club. I would add to that commuting time as teams can practice ALL OVER the area, even teams that are technically in a specific place ('Bethesda', Arlington, etc). Drive times can be horrible at rush hour so you'll need to factor that into you decision process.