I asked my kid every year where he wanted to play or if he wanted to skate with another team after being asked to every year to play for different teams. It was up to him every year. Stayed with same program all through youth, went to another program for one year after youth.

Did the same thing with prep schools and junior teams. It was always up to him. Don’t regret a single decision he made except for not leaving for prep a year earlier.

My guess is parents "influence" more than "dictate". My 14yo has been with same program since 9yo but I've seen firsthand parents that tell their kids they are better than their teammates, team is not good enough, coach isn't good enough for their kid, etc. Kid hears this and they start to believe they need to move teams. It's too bad. I get that parents get unhappy with results, but I would suggest parents just staying out of it unless they absolutely need to.

This is exactly how it goes. The influencing and telling them things leading up to the decision making time because the parents have already planted the seed and basically made the decision for them anyways. Hockey is a long season and they spend a lot of hours together. There should be more thought into moving to what a parent may consider a better team in the decision making process. They could move teams and struggle to fit in with a new group, less playing time, don’t like the coach etc. Basic questions… does he like the coach and practices? Is he happy with his team? Is he developing well? Having a hockey team that stays together during youth years is something special for kids. Unless there’s some major reason to leave, program hopping isn’t helping.

I coached a peewee team and a dad came up to me with his kid and said he was pulling his kid for a better team. The kid was sitting there next to us crying and he didn't care.

I always made the decision for my son. He quit. My bad. Let your kids play with friends.

Be a better coach

We have couple kids leaving because their parents think we are not a “real” elite team. So I guess the team is fake because we are middle of the standings. Youth hockey teams now getting titles of real and fake lol. Great time of year.

My guess is it is a younger age team maybe mite or squirt. Those are the families you will see on their third or fourth team in a few years and still complaining about god knows what.. the program, the coach, not enough wins, the practices, playing time, his teammates. It will always be something. They’re probably doing you a favor taking their negativity elsewhere

Ya the coach is guilty of not being good enough here. Well trained coach would keep all players wanting to return hahaha

Your kid seems to not want to move. My suggestion would be to find out why and act accordingly. For example, if it's because the kid really likes coach and feels like he's learning a lot, your job is to find out if coach is returning next season ASAP. If you find out coach is leaving, see if you can follow them. If the kid really likes playing with another kid, you find out what that family is doing next season. If they say they're leaving, your kid might be more willing to listen to your advice to change teams. Bottom line: listen to why they like staying where they are and go from there.