of her team's goals...and came home crying from the tryouts every year for three years believing she was going to get cut...and she's not a cryer at all. She gave it up because she didn't want to tryout the fourth time. The team was competitive but struggled to win, so every year they was this unspoken understanding that the club was hoping to upgrade players through tryouts, so no offers made to anyone on the existing team prior to tryouts. She was always safe from getting cut, but never felt it. Looking back, it was all nonsense - took itself way to serious to the benefit of almost no one, except maybe the club.

By contrast, my son played premier for three years then decided to drop down a couple levels and play with friends. The all stuck together for three years, low pressure, worked hard, had fun and won everything (season and tournaments) in this mid-level competitive league. Built great relationships, zero pressure, tons of fun, lots of wins and great confidence builder. Still working on my daughter's scars from the pointless nonsense of her club experience.