We visited the thought of playing AAU ball in the 2009 season, but for several reasons we opted not to. First off, things were not very clear regarding how you end up qualifying for Nationals, ie. sub-state, state, and regionals. Secondly, when we looked at what you would have to participate in, as it was put to us, sub-state to state if qualify great, if not, then regionals until you do. When the costs were added up for just one team, you could end up spending an enormous amount of money just to get to the Nationals! Being an organization that has 8U girls/boys and up, this was no longer an option for us this year. We opted to compete at other associations offered such as USSSA, USBA, and NAYBA to name just a few. We were able to participate against great competition at a fraction of the cost for AAU, and compete more often. I, personally, have never been to an AAU Ntls, but we had one parent who had in the past and after attending these other organization's Ntls stated that he really saw no difference and competition was the same at both events.
Most everyone that I speak to has the mind set that if a team does not participate in D1 AAU then they aren't any good. I certainly don't agree with that. I feel that teams that play with AAU have been fortunate enough to be able to raise the money or better yet, get a sponsor. I think that is great! But, what about the teams or organizations that are new to the traveling b-ball world? Of course, teams just starting out will have difficulty obtaining any serious sponsorships, and fund raising in this time of the economy raises little money in the broad scope of expenses. So, when you compete and win at the AAU Ntls, are you really the best of that age group? or just the best of that age group who could afford the costs involved?
I think if AAU wants to help everyone involved, they need to take the emphasis off of D1 and look at their tournament fees. I was recently at the BMS racetrack and spoke to some men who had been in coaching for over 20 yrs. The concensus of conversation when AAU was broached was 'they got out of AAU when it became all about money'. That is a sad statement to hear. AAU seems to have a lot to offer, but as these other organizations continue to grow, I see teams like ours playing these other organizations in lieu of AAU. I do agree that changes have to be made and how the AAU chooses to do that remains to be seen.
