Well, my favorite thing is to put together GOATs and go play a random tournament somewhere. Could be competitive... could be for fun. If you know someone that knows someone, you can kind of cherry pick players from other teams, sometimes your biggest rivals, and find an opportunity for them to play together at an outside event. Maybe find a dad willing to reach out to local players and just form a team for a weekend. It's fun watching your kid have to play with kids they've hated for years! But what a great growing experience. Pushes them both, you know?
ODP is no longer the best players because it's really the best of who is willing to pay and many won't. PDP was a better concept but it's still a matter of what club you play or, who your dad or coach knows and the evaluation process is shit from what I've observed. I've seen players get cut and show up the next session after a phone call. You know how it goes. You know who the best players are in your kid's age group. You see weaker players stay and better players go home... or not get recommended at all. It's bullshit.
