What are we even doing anymore? Can we stop the absurdity? This is a pure money grab exploiting the hopes, dreams, and fears of parents and HS kids. The entire youth sports industry lives on those two emotions. Hope: maybe my kid is the one they missed. Fear: what if everyone else pays and we don't? Both hit us parents where we're most vulnerable. Don't we love our kids? Don't we want to do everything we can to help them succeed? Think of the fear and what ifs like being at a concert. One row stands up to see better. Then the row behind them has to stand. Soon everyone's on their feet, nobody can see any better, and you can't sit down. That's youth sports spending, and all the companies know it. If they can convince one row to stand up and pay for X, Y, and Z...everyone else will follow because it's framed as their child's future is at stake. Which is why parents will pay $500 for a chance at a ranking that, for almost every kid, will never matter. And the kids will learn a lesson along the way too: their worth comes with a star rating. We took the one place kids reliably found joy and increasingly turn it into a job interview. It's all so absurd. And the saddest part is youth sports can be great. They provide a place for movement, teamwork, character building, figuring out how to work hard, and still potentially fall short. In a world where increasingly the choices for kids are dancing in front of a screen for an algorithm or actually being in the moment with friends and family... youth sports is necessary. But if we keep exploiting peoples hopes, dreams, and fears... we're going to crowd out the kids who need that outlet the most. We're going to turn something that brings joy and resilience into something that feels like a job. Remember the concert. Everyone's standing, still can't see, and yet no one wants to be the one to sit down first. Skip the $499 evaluation. Go to the game and just watch. If your kid is good enough, send e-mails and videos to coaches. Have your HS coach do the same. Don't fall for the $$$ exploitation of your hopes and fears. Somebody has to sit down first. Let it be you.