I saw what other schools did to be successful and in one competing schools case it was so clear how they went about building a competitive program that I met with the athletic directors numerous times and even created a PowerPoint presentation that I presented to the school board detailing what the other schools did and how we could implement a similar plan. They politely ignored me and kept doing what they wanted. More mediocrity ensued.
One private school around here is successful because they just give families money (I'm sorry, "scholarships") so the kids go there.
In Illinois (as I'm sure you know), you're technically not even allowed to tell an 8th grader "Hey, you should come play for me." And we have schools essentially paying families to play softball at the school.
Of course, I can't prove it. But it's one of those known things, and there doesn't seem to be any real desire to stop that sort of behavior.