And my thoughts on how transfers should go or not go. Have been coaching at all levels... Semi-Pro down to Elite U9s... High School, College, Club, you name it, for 38 years. I think I have a pretty good handle on players "transferring" whether it be a youth team, a club team, a high school team, college team, a professional wanting a trade or looking at free agency. It's all the same, although money puts a different slant on everything there. So, with that in mind...
There are 3 parts to examining why a player would want to "transfer"
1) The player has a problem he/she needs to work on
2) The environment they are in is a problem
3) A combination of both
Very often, the player (or parent(s) in the case of youth) will immediately point to the environment as being the problem. Of course, it's not them. They, or their son or daughter, are the next coming of Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Lionel Messi... you get it. So, if a player is failing and or flailing, it will likely be either the coach's fault or the rest of the team's fault. Everyone and everything but themselves. So they will remove themselves, or their child, from the situation/environment.
This is very bad. For 2 reasons. 1) It will relieve them of all accountability. So they will never learn how to be accountable for their actions. 2) They will be robbed of the opportunity to learn how to overcome adversity. Something that everyone needs to learn in this life in order to deal with the many adversities they will see in their lifetime.
So, what's the answer? A sit down. 2 sides willing to offer their thoughts and decide as to what the problem(s) really is. As the old saying goes, it take 2 to Tango. And very often it's a combination of 1 AND 2. So, very often it's a player making an adjustment, and whoever's in charge of the environment making an adjustment... that being the Head Coach.
I write this because I know there are a lot of parents out there that are experiencing this to some degree or another... coaches as well. And my experience has been that many times, things can be worked out. But I also know that there are times where they can't. And a "transfer" is in the best interests of all involved.
But my hope is that those thinking about "transferring", will think twice about it. Do some real soul-searching and try to identify where the problem(s) really lie. Then make the decision. Don't make it a knee-jerk reaction. Otherwise, it's just running away from a problem. And problems don't ever go away when you do that.
Thanks for reading. If it helps one person...
P.S. If a player is transferring because they want to play at as high a level as they can and the current environment is not providing that... then YES, by all means a transfer is in order!