AAU Changes

[ole chief]

There is a debate going on in the Lady Chiefs thread about High School coaches associations attempting to force AAU to hold no events until the summer months due to conflicts with spring school sports. Currently, at the high school levels, there are no AAU sanctioned events until June. What are some thoughts on this subject?

[bucknut 23]

ole chief

You know my thoughts on that

[falconfan86]

Well I don't think that is a fair rule, what about the kids don't play spring sports? And in today's highly competitive athletics you have to play AAU or some sort of club ball if your child is going to make it. My wife coached high school volleyball and coaches from colleges always asked if her girls played club volleyball, so college coaches look at those systems too. Whether your kid goes Major, Mid-major or NAIA they need to compete against the best, whether AAU or ASA or whatever it only helps them and in the long run benefits the programs they play for. Those days of 3 sport stars are fading fast, so why punish those kids that don't want to play baseball or softball or track..

[falconflyer]

Great idea. AAU is totally out of control but for wellmeaning reasons. A lot of sports' physicians say specialization at an early age harms players developmentally and injury wise, particularly for girls. AAU also puts too much emphasis on the me not team and brings to much parental involvement. AAU is not the only organization that is a problem. Look at high school calendars for all sports. Baseball Nov to August counting summer ball, BBall just about year around and football almost year around. The OHSAA should revamp its sports calendar to cut down on the year around requirements. This would put each child/player on a level field.

There are plenty of dedicated people involved all wanting the best for their children and if a coach for their players. I am not criticizing the people involved but a sports world that is far too much at far to early an age. Just my opinion./

[falconfan86]

I agree that at a young age you do not need to really push the kids like some people do, but we are talking about high school, by this time kids are more serious about the sports, and if your kids dream is to go to college or beyond, then he/she will need AAU or some sort of club ball experience. We already tell kids that at 18 you can vote, go military, have a real job, but you cannot go pro if you so choose and someone wants to pay you to work, and now we are going to start telling kids that if you don't want to play baseball, softball, basketball then you cannot work on your sport???

[falconflyer]

I agree on high school and allowing a player to puruse their sport.

[Eaglesnest]

AAU is not all that it is cracked up to be. It does promote individualism and often reinforces bad habits depending upon the coach.

My advice to young talent with college potential is this: Identify (or have your coach identify) the weakness in your game and work non-stop on your weakness through proper drills. Play ball as much as you can, and before long your weakness will vanish and then you may be able to play at the next level.

[falconfan86]

Eaglesnest, if you look at the good teams they do not promote individualism, the Thunder teams moves the ball really well, SOMAGIC Justice team moves the ball really and plays as a team, as well as SOMAGIC Pennington, but the coaches stress the team concept. And if coach doesn't win and have the kids playing well, then the coach won't be there long.
Yes, players should always work on their individual skills, but you also have to play against the best talent and if you go to AAU tournys, your playing against the best talent, especially at the high school level. Like I said before, all those D-1 Players and most mid level players are in AAU or some sort of club ball, and college coaches know this and scout these arenas as well as camps...

[qualified101]

look at it this way. what if a kid just loves competition. maybe they aren't college caliber players. this will add fuel to some fire but i have to post it, i would have to say that how much a high school coach promotes a kid to colleges has more to do with that child getting some type of scholarship rather than anything else. aau is great, dont get me wrong. i have seen two totally different coaching techniques in my ties with aau. one coach was a total team/goal oriented coach and with that coach came tourney wins/state champs, national rankings and the such. the other coach was pretty good but when crunch time came that coach stressed individualism more than teamwork. i have seen both sides. it can be frustrating. ultimately it is up to the kid/parents what is best for them.

[falconflyer]

Personally, I don't think high school coaches or AAU have anything to do with D I scholarships. If a player has the talent, they will be seen and recruited.

[ole chief]

A kid will not be developed enough to compete for the scholarships without club ball, in whichever sport he or she chooses as a priority.

Eaglesnest- by the time a kid is in high school, if she doesn't know what her weakness is, it is too late. She'll not be playing college ball anywhere.

I doubt seriously that any kid from southeastern ohio earned a college scholarship in the last 15 years without the help of AAU.

If a kid and her parents wish to pursue year round basketball, isn't that her choice? If the option of club sports wasn't available in the spring, and a kid has chosen a particular sport, then that kid will be in private lessons for her chosen sport vs softball or track.

Don't fix what ain't broken.

[Eaglesnest]

I can tell you first hand that alot of kids that get scholarships don't even develop or play until they are a junior in high school. I have seen it with my own eyes. Talent will always rise to the top.

Competition is important. Working on a players weaknesses is more important. One without the other will not get a player anywhere. I am sure that there are good and bad AAU coaches as there are high school coaches.

Bottom line: I'd rather have a kid working drills to fix their weaknesses and going to their schools workouts and open gyms under their home school coache's guidance. Just my preference and what I feel is best for the student athlete and their team.

[BBSHOOTER]

AAU WAS ORIGINALLY SET UP TO HELP ALL KIDS NOW IT HAS BECOME AN EGO BUILDER FOR THE COACHES AND THE COSTS ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE BEST 7 PLAY AND ALL 12 TO 15 KIDS TRAVEL AND THE BOTTOM 7 NEVER PLAY AND THE PARENTS AND PLAYERS SUFFER ALONG WITH THEIR POCKETBOOK. I HAVEN'T SEEN MANY COACHES AT AAU CORRECT A BAD SHOT, TEACH FOOTWORK OR TEACH FUNDAMENTALS AT ALL! THEY RUN OUT AND GET THE BEST THEY CAN FIND HAVE 1 PRACTICE A WEEK AND TRAVEL EVERYWHERE SPENDING ALL YOUR MONEY. THE 1 ADVANTAGE IS THAT THE COLLEGE COACHES ARE LAZY NOW AND THEY CAN GO TO THE AAU TOURNAMENTS AND FIND THE KIDS THEY THINK THEY WANT. PLAYERS ARE MADE WITH DESIRE, HEART, HARD WORK AND SOMEONE BUILDING CONFIDENCE ALONG THE WAY AND TEACHING FUNDAMENTALS. IF THERE WERE NO AAU THEN THE COLLEGE COACHES WOULD HAVE TO GET OFF THEIR BUTTS AND DO THEIR JOB AND GO FIND THE PLAYERS JUST LIKE THEY DID YEARS AGO! THIS IS JUST MY 2 CENTS. IT'S LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE STARTS OUT FOR THE KIDS ENDS UP FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS AND MONEY MONEY MONEY! WVA IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK KEEP YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TEAM TOGETHER AND SCRIMMAGE, GET BACK TO LOYALTY AND TEAMWORK.

[bushmaster24]

BBSHOOTER, hit the nail on the head . if u got the money they will take it.

[qualified101]

"who" exactly will take it?

[BBSHOOTER]

THE WHO IS THE PERSON WITH THEIR HAND OUT!

[qualified101]

i didnt know buying a couple of shirts meant they were crooks. wow?