Marshall coach Demetri Beekman, whose team has knocked off Bay View and Tech in its last two games, said he thought the dispersal of talent across the district was the biggest reason for the parity. If they're not playing and are the eighth, ninth guy on the bench at a school, they'll go somewhere else and play. They just move around more. Parkinson credited players' year-round devotion to the game as another reason. They're playing more in the summer, they've got that competition and competition breeds better players.
Respect is another factor.
Everybody knows everybody else. Players from different schools might have grown up together or still live on the same block. Don't think that bragging rights aren't of the utmost importance when teammates and competitors square off in summer leagues or on the playground, not to mention the media attention that comes with knocking off a big-name team. They want to earn respect. There are no nights off, either.