Commitment Issues

Seems like it is an annual thing for me to complain about commitment issues among my students. Specifically the cheer leaders. Sometimes it's not about them, but their guardians. But the root of the problem is they themselves. Every year it is a struggle to get this group of girls to understand what commitment means, what it entails and why it is important.
Every year, I have a few girls who just exasperate me to no end. If it is not lack of attendance, it is being tardy, or needing to leave early. Other than that it has to do with finances. Payment of money for coaching, for uniform, tshirts, this and that. It never ends.
It saddens me when I see these girls, who, initially show such potential, slip into the category of people who cannot commit themselves to what they want to do. The saddest thing, of course, is that it affects the entire team. The morale of the team dips. The annoyance among those who DO commit, is apparent. And this breaks up the team.
The other thing that truly annoys me is guardians who cannot understand why their charges' lack of commitment affects other people. Time and again, I have had to stress the importance of team work. I would rather have 12 people who truly commit, than 16 people consisting of 4 dead woods. I have less of a headache.
It is sad. I can see this trend continuing for a long time to come. This boils down to the ME culture. It's all about me, myself and I. This is the culture that is being passed down from those who should know better to those who are impressionable. The other problem is the focus on all things academics. Other types of learning no longer seem to be important. This is SAD.