Oldnsweaty,
Welcome to yappi. The decision was a reflection on my daughter more than me. Just to put into perspective, the MRL was a good fit for my daughter. She finished college soccer a little over a year ago so there was no DA for her. The OE at her age wasn't all that good, at best, a distant 3rd best team in Cincinnati. So I'm not saying an invite to OE was all that special. As for competition, the top level MRL at the time was fine for her. She played against National Team players from Ohio at the time included Sandra Yu, I think one that played up an age at TFA and you may have heard of Rose. At least for her, she wanted to play on a competitive team and a team and coach that she enjoyed as well as challenged her. It all worked out fine for her. She got a great education and college experience and she has a good job.