First, it’s doable. If your child is in a situation that is not healthy and/or safe then it’s your job as their parent to make the decision. It is just a game, and I know it’s important to them but it is still an extracurricular activity. We wouldn’t tolerate things from teachers that some parents are willing to put up with from club soccer coaches.

There is a chance your child could be in limbo for spring. I obviously don’t know your details. We had to do this and we just looked into all types of scenarios to keep her playing until a good resolution could be found. Look into clinics, train as a practice player, check out as many teams and clubs that make sense for your family.

This club soccer can be all consuming. And that’s okay because most of our kids absolutely love it. I applaud you for recognizing that a change is needed. People thought we were crazy when we did this — fed by the coach who was the reason we did it — and when you see the smile return to your kid’s face it is affirmation that you did the right thing. Soccer becomes fun again.

We looked into moving our son last year prior to kickoff of the spring season. In the end, he stuck it out and has since moved to a new club during the summer tryout season. You should be able to move your child, but don't expect a refund from the club you're leaving. The following was taken from the US Club soccers website:

(c) Voluntary Player Release. Unless and until US Club Soccer adopts a rule
regarding the procedure for player-requested releases, each Club may establish its own rule.
However, as amateur players are not under contract, as a general rule they may request and receive a release from their Club at any time. The Club shall submit an online release to the Organization.
(d) New Club Mid-Year Registration. A player may register mid year with another
Club as soon as his former Club submits an online release by completing the player registration process with his new Club and paying the US Club Soccer annual registration fee. Such registration is subject to the Organization’s approval of the original release. Annual registration fees shall not be pro-rated between Clubs. The Organization shall determine the actual release date should any disputes arise.
(1) The player is eligible to play for his new Club as soon as the new Club
registration process has been completed and the original release is approved by the
Organization.
(2) If the player’s former Club refuses to release the player, and the new Club
has obtained a written registration form (#R002) from the player and his parent, they
should complete Form #R006A and contact the Organization.

https://www.usclubsoccer.org/wp-cont...-6-19-2015.pdf

A club cannot prevent a player from leaving and playing at another club. They can make it more difficult for you if they want to, but it cannot be prevented. This is not the NCAA. Do not expect your money back, but you will be able to leave.

Why not explain the reason(s) minus identifying details?

Obviously.

No one cares about that.

If you are trying to leave NEFC West, do not expect the DOC to let you off the hook without putting up a fight. Good luck.

Worked out great for my kid. Got way better training went to a much better team in the top
Division. Everything happens for a reason,looking back now he wouldnt be half the player he is today. The sooner you let the current team know including the doc the bEtter , they will have more time to find a replacement if not it's more play time for the other kids. Good
Luck hopefully it will work out for the best.

Simple question, just curious, is it that you learned about something that you didn't know when you signed up and wrote the check OR did something actually change after that?

I haven't had too many bad experiences, but I've seen both. In hindsight, the former being my fault for not questioning enough and wanting the grass to be greener for my kid than it actually was.

Clubs

In the end do what is best for your kid. If moving is the right thing then talk to the club and let them know. Like someone else said they cant hold you back. That being said make sure your doing it for the right reasons and it will make your kid happy. Look at the 2003 girls thread if you want to see how people feel about club hoppers.

Thank you everyone for the positive and helpful responses. I was half expecting some negativity, so i really do appreciate the help.

Thank you to the poster above who shared the rules regarding moving clubs.

I would share more details, however it's such a specific scenario that it's hard to be vague. Bottom line is that the coach lied about several things to get us to join, isn't following through, and is now treating my kid poorly. Most likely because I questioned the situation we are in. There's more to it. And normally we would try to stick it out. But my kid is miserable.

This is our 4th year in club and I've never experienced this type of situation, or this type of coach. We may be able to move to another team, within the club. But if that doesn't work out, we'll need to move on.

Thanks again!

Your welcome N

I asked for an explanation in an earlier post and this certainly suffices. I had a similar type of nightmare experience at a smaller club when I was new to the scene. Moving quickly not slower makes sense here in my opinion. What I learned was to be skeptical and dig deeper than being satisfied by being told what you want to hear. The worst thing you can do is not use your leverage as the paying customer or being dishonest with yourself as to how bad the situation is or overly optimistic about how it can be fixed -- that is a sure fire way to have your kid be so miserable that they quit the sport entirely. I've seen it plenty over the years.

No matter how bad the situation try to leave with grace (both parents and player). You never know what will happen down the road. My D had a teammate whose parents spent 3 years trashing the club she came from. When things changed at our club and she went back to club A they looked like idiots.

Not burning bridges is good advice. You never know what might happen down the road. With three players I've seen enough cases of kids that were poor fits. Our clubs let them go with little fuss but sometimes the parents still felt the need to get final digs in before leaving. There's not point in trying to keep customers who are unhappy no matter what the reasons

OP here, and completely agree. We are trying to be as diplomatic as possible, without getting walked on. We've learned that it's a small soccer world.