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Esmark, tryouts on Easter Sunday????? Enough said about the organization.

Nope, that's Steel City Selects that refunds the fees. Sorry for the confusion!

Zam's answer was spot-on. As others said, honesty is key. You don't want to burn bridges, so doing it the way Zam explained makes the most sense. If you come across as being angry, or -- even worse -- that you are trying to extort the team ("if you don't take kid #2, kid #1 will fly"), that's not good. But every organization, no matter how political will understand simple common sense if it isn't practical for your family. You: "Did you have any players decline placement? If so, could you please reconsider my child for a spot? It is too difficult for us to get kids to two different rinks, so I will most likely have to decline my other child's offer. We don't want to do that, though, because my child really wants to play here. If you aren't able to offer my child a spot, I totally understand and can appreciate that." Something like that.

This comment is reasonable, but it misses one thing. Many organizations give a discount for siblings, which is a huge advantage for having both players at the same org.

Yep. There always has been a working relationship of sorts between them. Yuri always had the heads up who was getting cut at U15 when PPE would go down to one team from two. Obviously, things have changed a lot since those ppe black teams. Yuri was an evaulator one tryout that I recall. I also remember one year he was out front starting the recruiting process for esmark before the tryout was over.

You could ask organization 1 if they had any players decline placement and see if they would reconsider your kid for a spot. Agreed it might help by being honest with both organizations. But if your kids are young, as it sounds like they are, you are pretty much burning a bridge with that organization if you pull your kid after committing to them. You might find it hard to make a team there again in future years.

Teams have "folded" prior to tryouts before, as did the 06 Vengeance for the 2022-23 season. Evidently they did not like the list of names that were registered for tryouts and did not think they could field a competitive team. At least they did it before the tryouts began so players could explore other options. Unlike the same birth year - Esmark 06 two seasons ago that folded AFTER tryouts and did nothing to return tryout fees to those that attended and made the team.