I have a couple different views on the whole training clan thing. There seems to be a two variants that are operating right now.
The first one is a farm team. These farm teams seem to exist to allow mature clans to be more active since they're able to virtually double or triple their active player counts by adding a team of lesser skilled players. This means that clans can churn out more matches since it's likely that they'll have at least 3-4 players ready to play during peak times. It's also worth noting that these players usually seem to already be integrated into the clan scene, just not ready for a top-tier clan yet.
Of course, it really depends on how this farm team runs, but I don't really see any benefits to any of these players unless the clan running the team is actively leading, developing and practicing with the team. The usual case however, is that the top bracket of skill in the farm team gets the most match time with the actual clan. This isn't necessarily bad, but they don't get the recognition they deserve as a full fledged member of that clan. This probably also discourages the lower skill players in the clan. As well, there's no agreement that all members of the clan must be promoted through the farm team, so if the clan decides to take on 3 members from a recently disbanded team then you'll sit on that farm team until you're good enough for the real deal or leave to join another clan that's within your skill range.
The thing I do like about these farm teams is that with some commitment on the clan's behalf, a group of lesser skilled players get to play in a more stable team under good leadership that they probably wouldn't see in other non-affiliated clans of similar skill. Under these conditions it's also likely for a player to be more marketable when looking for another team, since you'll have experience playing and practicing with one of the better teams in this game.
The next is a genuine training team which focuses on the getting players into IRC, the forums and matching alike. I have a lot of respect for the work done by InT and teams that take the same approach. I think that a lot of work needs to be done getting players from public servers to the matching community before we start worrying about narrowing the skill gap in teams of already established players. Maybe it is essential to have both training teams and farm teams, but right now I would like to see more emphasis on getting players into matches and training teams than giving mid-skilled but already established players a known brand to play under.
It's quite obvious that different training clans and farm teams have different intentions. My respect will always go out to those that are genuinely developing others, not those that are only doing it for their own benefit.
On a side note, new players shouldn't be scared of being a leader. Leadership qualities (should) have nothing to do with skill. Fortunately, I've never been the best player in a clan that I've led and good players will play for you if you can prove that you're a good leader. Back when I started, I went after one of the best teams at the time and volunteered to redesign their website. I didn't play a single match that season but I was allowed to take on administrative duties and get involved with players in other teams that would have never talked to me otherwise. When that team moved on, it put me in a good position to lead other players that were way out of my skill bracket and now 8 years later I'm almost decent at PB2.
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