As a person that has been involved with this sport for a while, I can tell you that the "stench" does come from both sides at certain times. I am by no means pointing a finger at you or anyone else in this forum. I have seen teams/coaches/organizations play all kinds of games trying to schedule their tryouts to compete with other teams, scheduling tryouts early, sending spies to other teams tryouts, using strong arm tactics to try to force early decisions, etc. I have also seen families/players play all kinds of games too. Going to tryouts with absolutely no interest in the team, flat out lying to coaches about their interest, accepting a spot only to change their mind 2 weeks later (and then again dumping yet another team). Ultimately what it has lead to is a system where players/families find it difficult to trust coaches/teams/organizations and vice versa. And unfortunately, I do not see that changing any time soon. But when you do find a situation where both sides really do trust each other, it can be a lot of fun.
Worst time of the season for all of the reasons you stated. I have found that if you run, or find a good program, and by that I mean making girls feel loved, needed, and appreciated, most have no desire to leave.