Mediocre players can appear to be better than they actually are when surrounded by elite players. If you are a pitcher on the bandits or other high level travel club who has an elite defense behind you, your mistakes and inadequacies are better shielded from the viewing eye. When you have an offense that piles on runs for you, it will look as though you won more games.

The reality of HS ball is that you no longer have a stacked roster to bail you out. You face the reality of your own skill set. See LP or Schaumburg for perfect examples. All of a sudden, ERAs and WHIPs climb while Ws are replaced with Ls.

At the end of the day, SB is a team sport. No matter how good mommy and daddy think princess is, if she doesn’t have a solid team around her, she will fail.