Many of the most "successful" private coaches are really strong recruiters and marketers. Tom is by no means dumb; he puts a lot of thought into what he puts together for his athletes. But, he, and ALL private/online/remote coaches, are operating under SUCH a distinct disadvantage - their inability to coach their athletes in-person, in real time. I cannot emphasize this enough - having a coach who is not able to put eyes on you while you perform a workout is a HUGE liability.
Good coaches come into each day with a plan, but they adjust on the fly as needed. Perhaps you've been prescribed a difficult workout, 3 x something hard, and while you were in school you bombed a physics test and you got in a little spat with your girlfriend, maybe you forgot to bring lunch and had to slum it with cafeteria food. Now you show up to the workout and you're way off your time for the first one. Having a coach there in real time to advise you what to do now is crucial.
A coach who is there to observe you in real time doing some slightly above average plan is likely to take you farther than a remote/private coach who has put together an amazing plan.
And of course, there is the team angle. Pursuing a private coach like Tom sometimes makes a lot of sense on a team where you're the fastest guy by minutes, if you've only got a half dozen kids on the team or the HS coach is also the tennis and speech/debate coach. But if you're on a team that regularly qualifies for your state meet, a team that meets to work together in the offseason or goes to a team camp or has any semblence of team culture, then your actions could tarnish that culture. And that can make the other kids either look at you as if you are selfish, or cause them to begin doubting what they're doing, splinter the team, and eventually sabotage what your HS coach is trying to build.
I don't think Tom would do this, but the dirty little secret about private coaching is that there is profit to be made from convincing young athletes (and their parents) that you are superior to the HS coach whether or not it's even true. Some of the most well-known private coaches don't always have the track record you would think but instead are the best salespeople. I wouldn't say the college game is that different - an average coach who is a master recruiter will beat the master coach who is an average recruiter 9 times out of 10.