They aren't born there but they do grow up there. I’d say it’s more preschoolers than 4th graders though. Probably half my social circle lives in Webb City though very few are actually ‘from’ there...probably 75% moved there (mostly from other nearby towns) in the last 10 years around the time their kids were just starting school. Many (but not all) said getting their kids in WC sports was the or at least a primary motivator.
Many of these parents are former athletes eager to see their kids succeed, the types that pay for private lessons, expensive club teams, dedicate lots of time and resources to sports. If even half these kids turn out to be reasonably athletic WC’s deck will be stacked with well trained and seasoned athletes for at least another 10 years. The steady influx of these types of families, combined with already high participation that is natural with a winning program is why Webb City never, ever runs out of talent and never has a down year by any normal standards.
There was a time when I felt like Webb City won tough, close games by practicing harder and playing smarter than everyone else. Their system leveled the playing field against teams with superior size and talent. They still use their winning system, but the difference now is that the playing field is often already tilted in their favor in terms of talent. So combine their system with the concentration of talent and you have a team that can turbo clock 95% of their opponents including the state runner up.
