Wow, very interesting. I mentioned this as an often overlooked factor the other day in the thread about the necessity of travel ball. If the majority of players end up in their own back yard, this lessens the need to join a travel club that bounces all over the country.
The gymnastics number just blows me away. I mean, the country is only a little more than 2,000 miles across. On average, those student athletes go half way? I'm sure someone here has more insight. I would guess that the location/density of training facilities and of competing schools have to be a big factor but I can't help think of the "Dance moms" show and how maybe those kids are dying to get far, far away 