First time commenting. OP I am so glad it worked out. The youth soccer scene is pretty much filled with daggers. What I have slowly been learning is go where your DC is wanted and valued. Don’t chase teams for a name or status if your player isn’t valued. They feel it and won’t develop the same.

OP here reviving this thread briefly to thank everyone for the feedback and to give you the end of the story. This is the first time I really dug in on researching teams. We had just gone with local. This time I made a whole spreadsheet of teams, and just sent out emails to different coaches asking if they would consider a late tryout. Interestingly, several responded the first day and the rest never responded. He went to training sessions with the teams, and got two offers within a week. The new coach is super responsive and the team is organized and welcoming. My son played well in his first game yesterday and really likes the team. It is already a way better experience than the last team. So, I went from feeling very defeated to feeling like we are in a better spot than if he had stayed with his old team. So, thanks for inspiring me not to give up.

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like SYC! Or at least that seems like something they are starting to do. That's horrible.

SYC is not in ECNL...SYC Troll making the rounds again.