My 2cents
I have a few girls in my carpool that are traveling a great distance to be at a well known gym. Their previous history is similar to yours... Small unsuccessful gym that had mediocre lower to mid level teams.
It was their dream to go to the famous mega gym and be on a top 10 worlds team.
1.5 years later all I hear out of them is how they can't wait for the season to be over and done because they are missing out on so much of their personal life.
When they first arrived it was the glamorous honeymoon ... All was well. But they are very little fish in a huge ocean at the mega gym. They did not progress due to inhibition, time constraints and purley when your on a worlds team "training" is over. They are bodies on the mat that contribute in stunting. They do not have "featured" spots, tumbling passes etc.
I feel bad for them but on the other hand It takes a very driven athlete to go beyond the already demanding requirements a worlds team demands. They don't grow on trees! Mega gyms have plenty of prime produce to feature. Suzy and her mom have no clout.
So. much. yes. in. one. post.
I don't aim to deter folks from leaving small gyms for big ones. However, this is the reality.
At Teeny Tiny All Stars, you're the big fish in your small pond. At Big Name All Stars, I tell kids they're going to be the small fish in the ocean next to 354 sharks and a whale.
Kids think, "I was last pass with a whip double! I'm for SURE going to make a L5 team at Big Name!" When in reality, Big Name already has more speciality Level 5 tumbling than they can shake a stick at.
Your double (depending on how good it is in comparison to other kids) is likely not an automatic ticket to a Worlds team. It's a ticket to Restricted 5. Or possibly a Level 4 crossover situation.
Same with flying. You might think "Oh I was point at Old Gym! I'm so going to be point at Big Place"
Dude. What was point material somewhere else is likely "How do you feel about basing this season?" material at Big Place.
And that's not a knock on Big Place. They just have so much quality talent that what might be viewed as a ticket to a L5 team at a small gym, is likely "Oh, that's cool. Welcome to Level 3 or 4!" at somewhere bigger.