sdr: And Orange County and LA is very much the same. Yeah, definitely agree about the all sports aspect of it (versus focus on single sports in other parts of the country.)
I don’t remember where I saw the statistic, but California produces a huge amount of athletes (as does Texas), which you’d expect, given our population and talent pool, but even so it’s pretty amazing.
I was talking to a work colleague in Tulsa and he mentioned that the youth football organization in Tulsa has a draft combine and tryout system in place… and his kid is a 3rd grader! Parents are also expected to sign a contract committing the kid for the season, with no exceptions. Friggin’ crazy.