I have a freshman and a junior playing in college and ML has been doing this for a long time. My 2019's team would beat them in this tournament and then at the next tournament, they would roll in with an army of 30 boys and the 8 or so they added were always highly rated D1 commits (we still beat them more often than not). The excuse was always "that was the Capital team last weekend, this is the "National" team". I always wondered how the Capital boys felt when the fly-ins showed up and stole their thunder. Sadly, this now appears to be the norm with all of the "National" teams. Maybe they should all have to play each other and the winner makes the bracket. Be proud if you are on a local team and beating what amounts to all-star teams. The college coaches know the deal too. Now that I am looking back, what matters most is that your kids are having fun and getting better. Good coaching is the most important thing. You can complain about fly-ins, hold backs, etc but you are wasting your time. It was happening in 2016 and it will be the same, if not worse, in 2026. Believe it or not, you are going to miss these harried weeks and weekends of trying to get your kids where they are supposed to be. Enjoy the ride.
