My son has played LL Juniors, high level local travel, HS summer ball and national travel with NorCal as a 14U. He is playing with them at the Elite 32 in Florida this month. Do you know why he plays for NorCal? One thing. Coaching!! This year after he played his first game with them he came back after the game and said, "Dad, I learned more from these guys in one day than I had learned all year."
That is the difference. Quality, quality and more quality. They put together a great team, but they are always teaching. They are incredible communicators, motivators and technical guys. He has played all three levels this year. Bad, good and excellent. Being around a quality organization is worth all of the effort. After you have experienced the difference between the levels, you know why they are the best. Top level has absolutely no comparison to anything else.