[icehockeyaf96]

My son has a similar situation and we are wondering the same thing. Since his Middle School team is not playing this Spring, he decided to goaltend for the worst team in the league. So far he's having a great time. The team and coaches show their appreciation each and every time and are already asking him if he will come back in the fall.

The plus side of staying with the Spring team:
- likes all the players and coaches
- will definitely be the starter
- the other goalie often doesn't show up and doesn't notify the coaches, so my son will get to play more full games
- the coaches communicate well to the team and are very organized
- he will have more shots coming at him since defense is lacking

The plus side of staying with his home team:
-being with kids who will be with him in the classroom, adding to the social experience
-the coaches provide excellent training, although nothing is done for the goalies
-we already invested $300 in the team jerseys and socks
-his accomplishments will become known throughout the neighborhood
-the practice rink is 10 minutes away
-last year the coach promised he would get to play more in the net this Fall since the most senior goalie moved up
-last year the home team won every game in our division until they decided to move up one level. This year they expect to stay at the lower division since the better players moved up. If the existing players improve by the Fall, this team could have a good chance of winning again. Maybe they would make the playoffs. At the open house, some really good players showed up.

The negatives of staying with the Spring team:
-he will be playing at a lower level since his teammates aren't as competitive
-if a new goalie pops up in that town, they may not need my son, and then he could possibly not be accepted by our home town as a goalie.
-the home town teammates and coach could be annoyed that he didn't come back, even as a player.

The negatives of staying with the home team:
-the promise he will goaltend might be broken. At our recent open house, one of the coaches brought in an excellent goalie - I'm not sure if this kid would be too busy with his travel team to play for our school.
-lately everything seems to be so disorganized - clinics and games for the Spring didn't happen. So far it looks like there will be no varsity in the Fall, and possibly no Jr. Varsity
-some of the kids he liked the best moved up
-last year he only got to goaltend once the whole season when no other goalie showed up, but he did have a great game

Luckily we have until the Fall to decide, since that's when both teams are having their tryouts.

Which team would you pick?