Players pick by their ability to go to state?

Question
My daughter has played softball since kindergarten.  Last week she was approached by the coach to join the HS team.  It appears they are short on players.  She took last year off due to a knee injury.  At the first practice the coach questioned all of the girls on whether or not they could afford to go to state and nationals since this team has gone for the last 14 years.  He went so far to say that if they could not afford it they should leave.  Is this normal?  Wouldn't he be missing out on some really good players?

Answer
If you are referring to travel ball and not high school ball then I would answer, sometimes, depending on the team.  As to the second question yes, but if a player is good enough money is usually found to help the girls family with expenses.  When I figure team fees for my travel team I usually have enough extra to help pay for a girl or two  whose families can't afford the cost.  

If you are referring to High School ball:
 
To answer the first part, I really couldn't tell you if this could be considered normal in your area.  It seems to me to be a bit odd.  In Michigan the MHSAA guidelines state that a selection to a team is based on ability.  The varsity sports in our town do fundraisers to pay for travel costs for overnight tournaments.  We also have an independent sports boosters program that considers funding requests from the high school coaches.  

I believe that making a statement like this at the beginning of the season could be construed anywhere from short-sited to discriminatory.  To tell girls that they have to be able to afford a trip or two they may not make to even consider playing doesn't sound right.  If the coach is working this hard to get players at the beginning of the HS season, it seems doubtful that he will have the players to make a run in the HS state tournament.  I am not aware of any National tournaments for High Schools.

Two answer your second question, yes.