In my experience, T&F programs vary quite widely from state-to-state, county-to-county and even school-to-school. As you noted, a lot depends on the coach. Talk with the coach and see what you think. I find that in high school athletics, it is best to get your kids good coaching and training outside of school and try to find a coach that won’t mess them up.
HS outdoor track season is really only a few months of the year, so you make the best of it, post some good results and hope that some good colleges notice.
In my local area (DC/MD/VA), there are a good number of open meets that athletes of all ages can compete in - both outdoors and indoors. So there is plenty of opportunity to compete outside of the typical HS structure. The problem is that it may be more difficult to get college scouts to notice these performances.