The money involved in top level travel sports is insane. As such you will see stuff like this.
I once talked to a parent/manager for a top level travel team in girls soccer in the DFW area. That particular year they had 6-8 open positions. To try out for the team was a non-refundable fee of something like $400.00. They had hundreds of kids try out for the team. Most of the kids who made the team were homeschooled so they could make the two a day practices.