AA/Club Basketball

[treyph]

Here is an article write before the NBA Draft discussing the lack of traing our American kids receive via there AAU/Club Teams: Draft (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204621904574248282288269744.html#m od=article-outset-box)

[ielle]

It is a number of things with School gorvering body controlling the amout of time coaches are allowed to spend with player outside of school time beside school camps.It is a crime that coaches are not allowed to spend more times with players for personal development of the student game that may lead to further educational goals.

[sim111]

Here's the article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204621904574248282288269744.html#m od=article-outset-box


There is always this big debate on what AAU/Club Ball does and doesn't do and the misconception most folks have is everyonr is trying to develop players, however that isn't the case. Most programs go after kids who can play or have soime talent and don't really want to waste the time and to be honest with you I can understand why.

I was introduced to AAU by my oldest daughters MS coach and being unaware of what it was about, I quizzed him on nthis AAU stuff. He told me that the better kids were playing against the better kids and at the time, he was correct. Now you have talent spread out and some of the better kids will never see each other, but that's another discussion.

We try and not cut anyone and to be honest with you most ofd the kids are not where they are supposed to be, so naturally parents and players look for scapegoats. To me, blaming AAU is stupid because you ain't gonna get it doing two a weeks, 2 hours a day and trust me, that's all most of these kids are doing.

I usuallly give a somewhat smart a$$ response to parents and I throw it right back on them when they complain by saying things like, your daughter was practicing at school 5 or 6 days a week and can't use her opposite hand to dribble, make a lay-up, hit a 3 footer, etc and they want to blame someone, when the blame is in the mirror and it's like some of these kids just wake up and think " Hey mom and dad, I'm gonna be a basketball player" That ain't gonna get it.

I hear grumblings from ignorant parents who say my daughter isn't learning and I say no, your daughter is comprehending because if they can't remember simple stuff, jump for a rebound, box out, take the baseline away, I feel like there are times when I am teaching Pre-AP to those who shouldn't be in the class.

The NBA players griping is a joke, AAU gave them a forum to showcase their skills against the top players and put them on the map. When I started playing, I was horrible but like anything I chose to play, I worked at it and became pretty good. Before school, after school, early morning or late at night, I was practicng or playing not on Facebook or MySpace or watching Tyra or whatever dumb hot reality show that's on TV.

I take valuable time to send folks information but the sad part is most folks aren't too bright when it comes to AAU/Club Ball. Some want their kids to travel and they just aren't ready, maybe it's just to socialize, another topic, another time but here's Clay again

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/womens/columns/story?columnist=kallam_clay&id=3339615

This is the one that really get's me and I just tickled year after year because most parents truly don't get it

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/womens/columns/story?columnist=kallam_clay&id=3350884

Hearing NBA players gripe is one reason I rarely watch it anymore.

The have a great thread on the NY Board as well.

http://forums.hoopgurlz.com/showthread.php?p=28788#post28788

[beeeazy]

I think this article, like many others out there, is focused on the Male side of AAU ball. I would have loved to hear comments from WNBA players/coaches. I coach girls and boys and in my experience girls tend to be more fundamentally sound because only a select few have the athleticism to get away with being dumb on the court.

A boys aau team will have the last man off the bench who can't remember an inbounds play or where to be in the offense but he may be able to dunk the ball 50% of the time he touches it. To him, and to his high school coach, that may make you a great player. It seems to me that when I look at some of the top talent in the rankings on the girls side they all have one thing in common. Lock down defenders. They also all seem to be more motivated to increase their basketball IQ and skill level.

Of course there are plenty of AAU teams out there that just recruit the best girls and let them play. But I've seen alot of good coaches out there that are trying to teach the game. The system is not perfect but it's a good system.

I think a major obstacle is the parents. I've had parents tell me that this or that coach ran a good practice that kept the girls from getting bored. Then I find out that this or that coach ran through a few full court layup drills and did a lot of yelling and then made them scrimmage for an hour. Working on ballhandling, footwork, and basketball IQ isn't always popular. And when popularity could mean earning more money, alot of people choose to be popular over choosing to improve kids.

I never cut either, and I've always been criticized by parents who feel their kid would be better, if only they didn't have to play with some other kid they deem weaker. It's really a shame. Because many times both kids played on the same freshmen team at their high school.

[sim111]

I think most parents get hung up on the wrong thing and that's winning, especially at the early ages. Developing and improving should always be the priority and only a handful of kids fall under "can't miss"

I have a problem with folks thinking their kid is better than someone elses or if their kid were on a better team, they would be doing better and my response has always been if your kid is so much better, she should be dominating and more times than not, they aren't.

Someone, I believe Clay, wrote that there are around 1000 D1 scholarships available every year, problem is there aren't 1000 players ready to play D1 every year.

[ielle]

The way I see it if a coach is really trying to create a environment of work ethics and learning skills that will help them in game time (we are all for that).Parents come to practice and basketball not knowing anything about the game. Hey I think my kids are good but can they get better and they going work to get better yes.

[nbalive103]

That's why you have to work with your kids or find someone that can. I always tell my girls that you have to practice everyday and not just when there's practice. It's not up too AAU , but up to the individual whether they want to be good at this game or not. AAU never was meant to develope anyone, your game develope from practicing on your own.

[sim111]

You have to keep working because others are. I have seen 10-12 year olds who folks thought were going to be stars just pan out. Sometimes athleticism or other factors come into place but simple things like conditioning and dribbling requires nothing but legs, hands and balls. You would be surprised how many parents tell me their kid needs to do more running and if I'm a good mood, I might say something like "Gee, it's 168 hours a week and I have your daughter 3 of them, so let's use up practice to run"

It's still on the kid and playing defense computes to effort, not many look at it as being attractive but it sets the stage for offense. If you want to be an athlete or a basketball PLAYER, think like one, otherwise you are just playing basketball.