When you say call ahead and ask what positions are open for change, what does that actually mean. They will say all positions are open. Clubs need to fill secondary teams and want tryout fees as well. Say for example the A team wants 6 kids at defense. Let’s say 24 kids register for tryouts who play defense. They have 4 real good defenseman returning from last year, 1 of the 24 is a coaches kid, 1 of the 24 is recruited kid. That means that all 6 slots are filled before you even drive into the parking lot. That means 18 of those kids are trying out for the B team. Most parents don’t know this.
It depends on the club. Last year I spoke with a director of a club about one of my kids and they told me they weren’t making any changes in that position on the A team. This year I spoke with a director from a different club about another one of my kids and he flat out told me it would be very hard to break into the A team at that position unless my kid was an absolute stud (he’s not). But he did invite him to a practice if we were seriously interested.
Neither club was 91 or Express. They’ll tell you to come on down to tryouts and take your money without an honest conversation ( I know from experience ).
You can also ask to speak with the coach. They can be more honest than the club if they aren’t an owner. If you do speak with the coach, remember that your kids evaluation starts the moment you begin speaking. No coach wants a pain in the @ss parent.
