St James vs. Monument vs. XPerformance vs. X-Factor

[Anonymous]

Trying to prioritize tryouts and acceptances, if any. In what order should we prioritize these 4 clubs? Trying out for U12 or U13 (daughter is 12 but thinking of playing up due to grade level).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to prioritize tryouts and acceptances, if any. In what order should we prioritize these 4 clubs? Trying out for U12 or U13 (daughter is 12 but thinking of playing up due to grade level).

Our club had a player who was playing up (U13 playing U14) and she was benched most of the time. Playing up is good for development as long as you see the court, but it is no fun to sit out most games (if you are not at the level of your teammates). Clubs are happy to take your money because you show potential, then keep you on the bench because you don't reach the potential they saw at the tryouts. See the discussion in the thread "Benching players" to understand the dynamics.

Playing at age level might give your DD some advantages (likely make a better team, more court time). But at the U12/U13 level the differences between players might not be that pronounced.

Based on name recognition, St. James seems to be the best among the clubs that you listed. You will probably get at least a couple of offers from the clubs closer to the bottom. Some offers might come as "you can make this team at U12 level, but only a lower team at U13 level."