Brutal..Thats kinda on you dad. Go where your kid is wanted he will have a much better experience. How many 16 year olds want to watch their friends play. The answer is 0. Hope the prep season treats him better but if he cant play in the Fall, hes not gonna play in the Winter.
Worse is, those kids and dads were probably told "we sign an extra F and D because injuries happen" or "we roll the lines" or "we won't sit the same kids every game."
I don't disagree that no 16 year old wants to watch others play, but no 16 year old parent signs the contract with that understanding, either. The lying has to stop. And it won't.
Dad, look at the characters behind the scenes.
Question #1 Do they have real jobs?
Question #2 Is there a Dad that has a kid on the team that has influence over coach / coaches ?
Question#3 Are you / your kid more excited about wearing a sexy logo and saying my boy plays on the XYZ team?
Question #4 Have you read the mental midget post yet?
Question #5 How are you going to get your boy ready for prep now that this experiment bombed?
I don't understand why a dad just doesn't knock out a coach that does that to his kid. If you are lied to and stolen from just go outside and beat the p i s s out of the coach or owner. It only has to happen once and things would change.
Why would folks be so pumped up to play there? Decent teams last year but not world beaters.
Would never sign my kid on to a team with more than 4 lines or 3 pairs of D.
You don't know how many kids they sign before you show up for the first practice in August.
Had a team send my kid a contract. We said "last year you used 10 D, thanks but no thanks." Coach says, "Oh, that was just an unusual set of circumstances. We don't do that normally."
Yeah, you don't. It's only 9 D this year. My kid would have made it 10, though.
Some u16 teams practice once a week while others twice. Practice will help to prepare for the upcoming season more than limited game play. Squeeze in a skills session if possible and watch the practice and it may show you some areas that need improvement. Also, if you can put aside your emotion ask the coach what your son needs to work on to improve. Most coaches are trying to help players develop but there is enormous stress placed on them by numerous sources to win unfortunately and it impacts playing time.
Not sure but those guys certainly fit the bill. Well known for 5 line rosters with 3+ goalies and then telling 4-5 kids to stay home or to watch their buddies play when they get to the rink.