In this case or any other, if something you hear gives you pause, don't hesitate to seek out the observations of players and parents who have been associated with the program. In our case, it was the head coach's assertion that if our son made the contribution they expected, they'd apply additional athletic money to his account as it was freed up in the future.
In this instance, the head coach went so far as to suggest that we contact several players he named who had benefitted over time in the way he was describing. Our son reached out to several of the players named, and we spoke with 2 or 3 of the parents; all of whom corroborated the coach's assertions. As it turned out, the coach was a man of his word...and then some.
"Trust, but verify."
Ronald Reagan by way of Suzanne Massie