In '08, Baseball players will not be allowed to participate in "other" programs, if they are playing for their High School, during the season.

 

Is there a similar proposal, for Basketball and if so, what affect will it have on both KHSAA teams and AAU.

I have not heard of such proposal for basketball but would be in support of it, at my local high school this would help out both track and baseball because basketball players would not be going year round, this would give them a manditory break after their season until the last day of the school year!

Whether you think it is a threat or not, you have to admit that when a kid is playing at a facility with 6 courts and there are over 40 colleges represented it is beneficial to the athlete. A kid may get seen by more coaches in one weekend than he would his whole season at a highschool. Unless you have major potential or have established yourself as a "stud" you are going to have major div-1 coaches walking through your gym. There is so much talent now that coaches prefer to go to a tourny with 30 or 40 teams vs driving/flying a great distance to see one or two players.

Very good post! :thumb:

 

Basketball has become very competitive, and at earlier ages, and there is just so much talent out there that it is an asset to any player who wishes to play beyond high school. As you stated, with so many gifted athletes now days, it's much easier for colleges coaches to go to the big tourneys or camps and watch the talent that they are looking for. Plus it gives the kids a chance to play against some of the top players and teams in the country. All of the above helps the high school team too.

 

Before our first game in July last year coach Pitino walked right in front of us, watch parts of two of our games, it made some of the kids trip just on that moment alone, that highly regarded coaches like him saw them play. Does that mean they will get recruited by one of them? NO! But it does give the kids something to shoot for, and when going against some of the top players in the nation, it shows them how much better they must become.

 

I won't mention names, but there was a VERY good high school basketball player within the past couple of years in KY, well respected and had a name for himself in KY, he and his family thought that would get him somewhere. Well, then at the summer before his senior year, he hasn't been getting as much interest as they he and his family thought, and went scrambling looking for a team to get on so he could get noticed as well as play against top competition, if he played well against the better and ranked players he may just get that recognition. He did get noticed from being on that team.

 

I don't believe high schools and organizations like the KHSAA should "force" kids into situations on where they have to choose between playing high school or AAU, as that saying goes, "Be careful what you ask for". Just because an athlete may be good at other sports too, or coaches want him/her to come out for other sports, doesn't mean they want to, and shouldn't be force into doing so, if they were interested they would be doing it now anyway. We have a very good player on our team, he loves basketball, but also likes baseball, he is able to do both, we have another player who is a big track star who loves basketball more, but he too is able to do both. They are KIDS! They only are kids once, let them do as they please, let them be happy.

I think AAU is good for players looking to get noticed by college scouts. Right now we have our school kids playing in AAU leagues so they can play good competition and get better as a team coming up through the ranks. Ultimately our goal is not to win the National Championship but to compete and gel as a team so that when these boys reach the middle school/frosh/high school level they will have had 5-6 yrs of playing together and will be a force at the High School level.

 

If there are one or two excptional players that come from this and they wish to play with a traveling team during the summer while they are in high school, well good for them.

Asset to the athletes and a bad for the teams!

 

I think Lady Bear Mom has summed it up best!

Ultimately our goal is not to win the National Championship but to compete and gel as a team

This is GREAT thinking! First, too many people think AAU should be about winning a national title, which it shouldn't be. It should be about giving the kids more time to play a game they love, at the same time going against better players and teams, getting better for their school team and possible get better and get recognition by some colleges. If the kids love playing this early, this is great for everyone involved.

This is GREAT thinking! First, too many people think AAU should be about winning a national title, which it shouldn't be. It should be about giving the kids more time to play a game they love, at the same time going against better players and teams, getting better for their school team and possible get better and get recognition by some colleges. If the kids love playing this early, this is great for everyone involved.

 

 

Yes, too many parents get hung up on making sure Little Johnny is on National Championship teams and gets college scholarships so they can bring home the future paychecks.

 

They should put more emphasis on the team building and relationships they will make by playing in these games against players across the state/ region. Just getting them more games and allowing them to compete and get some exercise is enough for me.

So from what I can see through some of these posts, most are in support of AAU, but only when athletes compete with a school team and not a select team? I think AAU should in some way at least be regulated by the KHSAA, athletes are playing for KHSAA unapproved teams and coaches, I know that these coaches/teams are approved through the National AAU Office but their standards of coaches and qualifications do not match up with the KHSAA's!

It just depends on who is involved and if the parents/coaches have any sense. The AAU program was very beneficial to Elliott County and the tournament experience led directly to winning the regional tournament in my opinion.

So from what I can see through some of these posts, most are in support of AAU, but only when athletes compete with a school team and not a select team? I think AAU should in some way at least be regulated by the KHSAA, athletes are playing for KHSAA unapproved teams and coaches, I know that these coaches/teams are approved through the National AAU Office but their standards of coaches and qualifications do not match up with the KHSAA's!

 

Regulated is not a word in AAU. I have heard stories of coaches using white out on Birth records and forgetting to make a copy of it, etc. You cant regulate AAU you just have to live with it.

It just depends on who is involved and if the parents/coaches have any sense. The AAU program was very beneficial to Elliott County and the tournament experience led directly to winning the regional tournament in my opinion.

 

Elliot Co is definitely a team that I explained to my boys they should emulate.

AAU programs reduce the control and therefore the power some of the high school programs have over the athletes by offering additional options for competitive play. In my opinion that is a good thing. The kids and parents have freedom of choice as to which team they play on for AAU whereas they do not in high school. I can understand why high school coaches have mixed feelings about it.

AAU programs reduce the control and therefore the power some of the high school programs have over the athletes by offering additional options for competitive play. In my opinion that is a good thing. The kids and parents have freedom of choice as to which team they play on for AAU whereas they do not in high school. I can understand why high school coaches have mixed feelings about it.

 

The problem is high schools pick head coaches who have the confidence of school systems to coach these young men. At the sametime anyone can coach an AAU team. I dont necessarily think it should be stopped, but in a lot of situations it is not a good thing.

Their is good things and bad things in AAU just as their is good things and bad things in high school basketball. On the AAU side you as a parent need to do some research before you put your kid on a AAU team.

The problem is high schools pick head coaches who have the confidence of school systems to coach these young men. At the sametime anyone can coach an AAU team. I dont necessarily think it should be stopped, but in a lot of situations it is not a good thing.

 

No doubt that the parent(s) need to interview the AAU coach and organization and make sure their child is being not only properly coached, but properly supervised and chaperoned on trips. I will agree also that the "quality control system" for high school coaches (like teachers) is generally very high. The good part about AAU is that the family does get options whereas in high school, you don't.