Do you fly scored turnaround maneuvers in your Sportsmen schedule?
Over here the Sportmen's schedule has a free turnaround so I try to suggest to the Sportsmen flyers when I'm calling for them (or even judging them) to take their time in the turnaround (if they have the battery capacity) and use it to set themselves up properly for the next pass, otherwise as you say their problems just multiply. I don't mind even if they do an extra few turns at the end of the box to get lined up, but once they start their run in it's game on and deductions o'plenty
In honesty, half reverse cubans and half square loops should be bread and butter turnarounds for Sportmen flyers to practice. The first one brings you back onto line at the same height, the 2nd one gets you from bottom to top (and from top to bottom) with minimum workload. Even practicing a 90/270 degree procedure turn is better than the flat lazy eight habit often carried over from general flying.
You're also correct, some designs are simply easier to fly the pattern with than others..