I love this talk about Deza by people who have no idea what they're talking about. For the record, Deza never kicked a kid off his club for playing HS although he has encouraged their exit for lack of commitment combined with lack of sufficient ability. Even when US Soccer kicked his Quakes players out of GDA, he assured them he'd find a way to work around it, and he did. In fact, his going rogue on US Soccer by supporting his HS players contributed greatly to the demise of GDA. Deza will absolutely support his players in college recruiting even if they play HS, just as he always has. But it comes with caveats, because there are always consequences to decisions. He will be candid with your kid about those consequences, but don't confuse honesty with "threats" just because you don't want to hear the truth.
Specifically, Deza will discourage HS because the fact of the matter is a kid will not get better quality training playing HS, they run higher injury risks, and it is harder for a kid to get recruited when they miss ECNL showcases because they are missing 50 or more college coaches getting to see them play. That is just how it is. Also, when a bunch of players miss showcases because they're playing HS, it hurts not only their recruiting opportunities, but also their teammates opportunities because the team and remaining players just aren't going to perform as well in front of a large audience of college coaches when they're missing a lot of kids. From a club's perspective it is pretty messed up when the club's objective for a team is to get them ALL recruited for college, but there are families that don't give a shit about anyone other than themselves.
Regardless, if your kid can really play, Deza isn't going to kick then out. They run the risk of reduced playing time or being moved to a lower team because another kid may come along while your kid is gone or an existing one improves to the point that they pass your kid. Playing time may suffer for a while because his job is to get kids recruited, and he's going to make a priority of those who show that getting recruited is a priority to them. Anyone who thinks being told these truths is a "threat" is just a typical stupid soccer parent who refuses to accept that there are consequences for decisions. They also probably refuse to accept that their kid just isn't good enough to guarantee that they can miss three months of club without getting passed up. If you want your kid to play HS and continue starting ECNL at Surf, they need to be really good. If they aren't, they take their chances. That is how life works.
Oh, and Deza has never wanted a small roster in his life. Maybe he can bring only 18 to a game, but claiming that he only wants 18 kids to train is just a lie.