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this happens sometimes where kids are so worried about individual improvement that they forget it's a team sport, and also where high school seniors are just passing through for one year, kind of like it's a 6 month camp. Shea Patterson might be checking his phone for Calvary's score after games and get more excited for his former teammates than his own school's game.

This is possible but highly, highly unlikely. I checked to see what all of my friends were doing at the high school I would've gone to had I stayed in New Orleans for high school and while I was excited for them it had absolutely nothing to do with the way I felt about my teammates or IMG as a whole

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maybe you'll say it's different, they're internally driven over there, but they don't play for championships. the team will be favored in every game they play so they can't even experience the thrill of an upset

This isn't really true, we played against the top teams across the country, not just in Florida. We had busses and charter jets to take us wherever we needed to go to NOT be favored so that mindset wouldn't set in. And regardless, IMG gets shite talked a lot by the major players in 6A Florida sports as gimmicky and overrated and there was a really big chip on most of our shoulders to beat their asses and show them that we weren't all hype. An upset isn't the only "thrill" or motivator that can drive an athlete. Ask anyone that played for the Lakers or Yankees when they were on top

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and as for chemistry, it's common sense. kids thrown together in 6 months won't come close to kids that have literally grown up together

I'm really, really not trying to be a dick but you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about and I lived in that situation for 4 years and know exactly how it was. I spent like 2 hours a day with my teammates in Louisiana only because I had to, and honestly I didn't like a lot of them and a lot of them weren't my friends, they were teammates. The culture at IMG is so welcoming and friendly because everybody there knows exactly how it feels to leave their friends and families behind and know absolutely no one. I'm not exaggerating when I say that within a few weeks I had closer friendships than I made in 14 years in Louisiana and anyone that hasn't gone to school at IMG can't understand that. We also spent literally 12 hours a day with our teammates and it was a 100% positive environment where we supported each other and helped each other get better, there was no petty sports bullshite or politics where parents got involved like in Louisiana. I'm sorry but you have no clue what you're talking about and can't understand it so don't tell me that I'm wrong about my own school or even imply it, you're making good, understandable points but I know what I'm talking about when I say that it's really hard for outsiders to visualize