AAU Basketball

[macdaddy]

Now i do not have a dog in this fight, however i do coach football and track. Over the years many of us who are track coaches have lost athletes to AAU BB because of what AAU coaches tell the kids and getting to the next level. While this may be true for some of those kids, WHY WOULD YOU PUT ALL OF YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET? If i recall correctly AAU BB is the reason we have a DEAD PERIOD here in Tennessee and i have been around fopr 14 years. In just upsets me year in and year out what coaches of AAU teams tell the kids. We fight this every year in football off season conditioning in the month of June. My question would be, Who do you coaches think should be playing on the AAU teams and why should kids put all their eggs in one basket? I have seen some do that only to be let down, when had they run track, they would have been 1st or 2nd in the state and coaches would have been crawling all over them.

 

No need to bash me, i am just asking a question. I have fought this for 14 years. Just trying to figure out what AAAU coaches are thinking is all.

 

Mac

[warmachine7954]

I think it can hurt however it is the kids choice to play. One thing I don't understand is how it hurts their football conditioning. I have always had the thought that basketball helped football players with their foot work and cardio, but football has never done much for basketball players.

[macdaddy]

i believe conditioning and weights will help them and perhaps give them a tougher mentality from what i have seen and heard from our BB coaches. But yes you are right on footwork, but then again so does wrestling, don't you think?

[warmachine7954]

Not everybody has wrestling. We only have FB, Basketball, Baseball, and Golf for guys here.

We lift here for basketball and no I don't think it makes them tougher mentally. Basketball is a game that must be played alot. We have the problem here of not having "Ball-players" Some of our best athletes are on the football field but when you put a ball in their hands it's like putting them on another planet. I am not a fan of running kids in the ground with three sports. However I came from a HS that the unwritten rule was you don't play basketball and football. In 4 yrs. we had nobody play both. Some tried and all quit. We had 1 play baseball. The basketball program wass non-existent until this happened. When we stayed in the gym and played and played and played we got better and competed. I went to Dyer County by the way and even now with almost 1000 kids not many play BB and FB. I am a basketball guy though I went to a k-8 school that had about 110 kids all we had was basketball. When I got to HS I played FB my freshman year and did'nt like it, I hated practice. I was 6'1 250 as a freshman by my senior year I was 6'3 250 and could run the 40 in 4.8 but I just played basketball. Basketball players are made not born.

[logcabinman]

Not everybody has wrestling. We only have FB, Basketball, Baseball, and Golf for guys here.

We lift here for basketball and no I don't think it makes them tougher mentally. Basketball is a game that must be played alot. We have the problem here of not having "Ball-players" Some of our best athletes are on the football field but when you put a ball in their hands it's like putting them on another planet. I am not a fan of running kids in the ground with three sports. However I came from a HS that the unwritten rule was you don't play basketball and football. In 4 yrs. we had nobody play both. Some tried and all quit. We had 1 play baseball. The basketball program wass non-existent until this happened. When we stayed in the gym and played and played and played we got better and competed. I went to Dyer County by the way and even now with almost 1000 kids not many play BB and FB. I am a basketball guy though I went to a k-8 school that had about 110 kids all we had was basketball. When I got to HS I played FB my freshman year and did'nt like it, I hated practice. I was 6'1 250 as a freshman by my senior year I was 6'3 250 and could run the 40 in 4.8 but I just played basketball. Basketball players are made not born.

 

 

AAU is turning into a nightmare to me. I am someone that used to coach AAU for about ten years. It is basically turning into an extended basketball season, and money-money-money-money. I think that there needs to be more control of how it works. AAU when I was going through school was about a month of basketball during the summer, and fun. For some of these kids now I think it is a job. Do I think it is a bad thing, not necessarily. I however would love to see it have more restriction for high school ball players, so the kids can have some time to enjoy their own personal lives and not feel the pressure of playing ball to keep up with everyone else.

[gomerpyle]

As best I can tell, if a gifted runner runs AAU track and focuses on that sport, nobody complains. Jackie Coward, for example, could have been an excellent basketball player, but she really helped herself by dedicating herself to track. For her, dedication to one sport seems to have been an excellent choice.

 

So what's the difference?

 

Nobody complains about baseball or softball players who dedicate themselves to that sport. Volleyball has become year-round for many athletes as well.

 

Those who complain about players focusing on basketball are misinformed at best and hypocritical t worst.

 

According to the NCAA, only 3 percent of male high school seniors who play basketball will earn a college scholarship. Therefore it stands to reason the best way to earn a college scholarship is to focus on basketball. The competition is fierce.

 

Nothing wrong with track or any other sport. But good basketball players must spend a great deal of time on skill development, and it's very difficult to do that if they are competing in another sport.

 

Focusing on one sport is not for every student-athlete. Each situation is different. But we've (Tennessee Travelers) had over 200 former players sign college scholarships and over 100 play at the Division I level. Nearly every one of those players would tell you that it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to earn a scholarship if they had competed in 2 or 3 sports throughout high school. I don't think many, if any at all, of our former players have any regrets about dedicating themselves to basketball.

 

With scholarship limitations due to Title IX and the influx of European/foreign players, it's more difficult than ever to earn a college scholarship. Certainly there are a few exceptions (Allen Iverson for example), but they are few and far between.

 

Not all AAU/summer coaches mislead players. That's a common excuse and misconception, but it's just not true.

[redandblack63]

How about Fall baseball and or traveling baseball teams that play 100 + games over the spring and summer. How about football coaches that tell their players to stay away from basketball because they miss so much time in the weight room.

 

Is AAU basketball a problem? Yes. But it is only one of many that keeps kids from playing multiple sports in High Schools. On the other hand if a kid has the desire he can play multiple sports. Chris Lofton All-State in football and Basketball played AAU.

[IrishBBall]

I've experienced both sides of this arguement as a successful AAU coach (several top finishes nationally and players in the NBA and WNBA) and as the father of a player that was required to give up baseball for AAU. As an elite AAU coach, I never required a kid give up a sport to play AAU. My only rule was take care of your school sport first then AAU but don't miss our games or practices for something other than the school sport. I had players miss games due to baseball, softball, track, etc. Also had some that would come to tourneys after another sport's game on the same day. For a select few, I understand giving up other sports to concentrate on basketball but the majority of these would be D1 prospects regardless. On the other hand, we worked with the high school coaches of guys that ended up playing D1 football and baseball to make sure they weren't missing anything that would impact their college chances in their "best" sport. I think some of the coaches that force kids to choose don't have enough pull to really impact these kids college futures with the exceptions of possibly the TN Travelers and Ballerz.

 

Also, I don't think AAU basketball had anything to do with the dead period. It wasdesigned to give the football guys a break before starting two-a-day practices. I also think part of the reason was to curb teams getting an early jump on practice start dates.

[ksgovols]

The biggest problem with AAU or USSSA baseball for that matter, is that there's noone to answer to. Other than the rules of the game, the coaches of these teams don't have to answer to anyone except the parents.

 

If 3% of the high school players are going to get college scholarships, why in the heck would the other 97% give up anything to concentrate on basketball? I say let the kids play as many sports as they can through high school. One day they're going to wake up and have to go to work. The other thing is that AAU would be fine if they'd start taking middle school kids and working with them in the summer and letting them play a few tournaments to make the high school tryouts or to improve their game. Same with travel baseball. Instead, we start this crap just out of kindergarten and burn them out before they get hair under their arms. Let 'em be kids.

 

The big answer to the unasked question is 'money'. That's why it's gotten so big and needs some regulating. If parents would take the money they throw at their children's athletic endeavors and invested it in their education, they could go to college on the Hope Scholarship. I mean, they aren't building these workout facilities and basketball academies in downtown Memphis. They're building them in Williamson County.

[logcabinman]

The biggest problem with AAU or USSSA baseball for that matter, is that there's noone to answer to. Other than the rules of the game, the coaches of these teams don't have to answer to anyone except the parents.

 

If 3% of the high school players are going to get college scholarships, why in the heck would the other 97% give up anything to concentrate on basketball? I say let the kids play as many sports as they can through high school. One day they're going to wake up and have to go to work. The other thing is that AAU would be fine if they'd start taking middle school kids and working with them in the summer and letting them play a few tournaments to make the high school tryouts or to improve their game. Same with travel baseball. Instead, we start this crap just out of kindergarten and burn them out before they get hair under their arms. Let 'em be kids.

 

The big answer to the unasked question is 'money'. That's why it's gotten so big and needs some regulating. If parents would take the money they throw at their children's athletic endeavors and invested it in their education, they could go to college on the Hope Scholarship. I mean, they aren't building these workout facilities and basketball academies in downtown Memphis. They're building them in Williamson County.

 

 

You have hit the nail on the head. I am a jr. high ball coach and I coached AAU for years. I don't dislike it, I just think kids are starting way to early. I am seeing so much burn out after high school. In my home town it is the girls program. Are they successful, yes! I go back and forth because it is obvious that it works, but I think that it takes away the core of the livelyhood of team connection. I remember playing on my high school team, state tournament 3rd overall, and we did not start AAU until I was 16 years old. I loved my teamates, and we loved our school. I guess it just like life know, give me mine, mentality. I wish kids would not start out so early. I see so many parents, that never played ball, pushing their kids.

[macdaddy]

IrishBball, i like what you say... Do not hurt your school sport. The thing i have with AAU is some coaches telling kids it is the only way to market yourself to college coaches. To me if you are good enough college coaches will find you. I just hate that some AAU coaches are telling a kid to put all their eggs in one basket. I will agree not all of them are the same, but let kids make their choice about running track or baseball....PLEASE DO NOT TELL THEM THEY HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE!

[warmachine7954]

I like the idea of coaches working together also. If a kid has a basketball game then he needs to miss baseball practice or vice versa. If he is in season in school then he needs to let AAU slide until the school season is over. It can all be done if coaches will just drop egos and do what is in everybodies best interest.