The sizzle was rich parents from a wealthy area being driven to get ahead to the point of being foolish. Writing about a middle class family chasing a 1/10th baseball scholarship is a big downer and doesn’t surprise anyone.
The twin to this story is wealthy driven family curates their kids lives so they can get into a prestigious school. This happens all over the country, but it sells if it’s set in the bay area.
The story writes itself, but the quotes are tough because it’s a small group of crazies.