"Its members glide only when they cannot soar."
If we can't soar we can only glide! Pre-solo is frequently just gliding. Soaring and teaching soaring doesn't happen much pre-solo. Of course a club with a handy ridge is well-placed for teaching through the winter as more of the flying time is spent in the air compared with a circuits-only day, and I'm not sure the fact some (not many) instructors have a diamond or two is a problem, or indeed that they are not a similar age to the cadets.