I am reminded of a WC Fields quote "Statistics are like bikinis, they reveal what is important but they hide what is vital"
In our area what is vital, the majority of kids that play showcase teams go on to play college ball while that does not hold up for the kids that played legion.
You do have some that play Legion after their freshman yar but the most competetive ones move to showcase teams when they are 16-17.
We have one legion program that still does a good job of keeping kids in the program. However a lot of these kids also play for showcase team. The most interesting fact is this Legion team had a friend's son play on it and these guys went all the way to the national championship rounds. While he was there he said he only saw 3-5 scouts at any of their games along their two week journey. I was talking to him from a weekend tourney my son was playing in with his travel team.....and I told him just for the game alone I was attending during our phone conversation I was looking at 15 coaches standing behind the backstop with guns. Confirmed my son's decison to not play legion.
Woody sounds like your son had a good experience and a good outcome with his legion experience...congrats with that....
But PG is right looking at the whole picture....what is vital for the vast majority....are showcase teams and the exposure they can provide.