I remember the year CESA was formed and I was talking to a guy at tryouts. He said "I just want to see what this is all about, my kid doesn't want to play here. Besides it's free training."
That to me is the main reason for the fee. A player there for wrong reasons only muddies the water and could be offered a spot that somebody really wanted, only to turn it down later.
I think Hurst has a good idea of applying it to the dues when the player commits to the team.