Nice post Bum and so true. You can be the best player on your hs team and not be good enough to make a hs team in another county. You could be the best hs player in your county and not be good enough to be recruited by a college program.
The last 3 MVP's of the middle school team didnt make it past their soph seasons at my hs. They were as good as they were ever going to be the day they walked into the hs. No work ethic and no desire to work to get better. And most importantly no desire to actually compete.
Quincy Jones got cut from the middle school team. He was convinced he was never going to play in HS. He stopped by the field the summer after his freshman year and said "Coach do you think if I worked at baseball I might make the JV as a soph?" All he did was make All State his Jr and Sr years. Make AA at a D1 his Jr and Sr years.
Those of us who have been around this thing and been through it understand what seems important at 13 means absolutely nothing when it really matters. And the things that seem important really dont amount to a hill of beans in the long run. It will play out.