With so many sports playing year round like basketball, softball, soccer. Is it enough to just play school ball and during the summer work on your own, go to some good camps and so on.

 

Ive herd these comments lately. All that I ever heard and my own answer to this, was school ball was not enough if you wanted to go to the next level. I still believe that way. What do you all think.

Edited July 31, 200818 yr by STRIKE3
to comply with Rule #13

School ball is simply not enough anymore-IMO. The majority of colleges do not go to high school games and spring/summer aau ball along with some of the exposure events are the best way to get your name out there along with having success on your high school team certainly does not hurt you any especially if you can get to the state tournament. Camps can be good but be careful as some promise all this college exposure which can be overstated. Summer work on individual skills is also improtant because you have to continue to add to your game. There has to be a balance there because just playing games withouth skill improvement may not help you get any better. Lots of gym time working on the small fundamental stuff only adds to your skills when it comes to games.

School ball is definitely not enough. The player needs to get exposure by going to AAU events and special camps so that she is seen by college coaches. She needs to sell herself at these events. School ball will draw some recruiters but nothing like these events.

Sorry this is long!!

 

I can absolutely guarantee school ball is not enough. Some kids are stars on their HS team and will be average on a very good summer team. Some kids look good on their HS team and great when playing with other great players.

 

There are so many camps out there and you must be careful because "most" are money machines and a complete waste of time & money. I'm a huge fan of asking people for advice that have gone through the process. I'm also a big fan of taking the "camp" money and using it for a good personal trainer to specifically focus on weaknesses. If she truly has the ability to play at the next level then you must view it as an investment. Then, most importantly, she "absolutely must" take those learnings and couple-it with the desire and drive to put in the work in the driveway when no one is watching.

 

As far as summer ball, I highly recommend finding a team of player's with the same goals and passion to play at the next level. It may mean moving on from their current team of school friends where they have so much fun. It may not be a popular decision, but the player and parents need to make the best decision for "their" kid that will put them in position for future success. Do your homework and find a team, coach, or organization that considers success by the number of player's getting college offers and not wins & losses. Trophies look good on a website, but they are for bragging rights and do not pay college tuition.

 

Beginning the summer between their Frosh & Soph year...the kid absolutely must be on a team that attends major college exposure events. Again, this requires doing your homework. There is a huge number of so-called "Exposure" events, but if you think your kid can play D1 or D2 then you must make sure the tourney's coincide with the NCAA evaluation periods (http://www.NCAA.org - usually the last weekend in April and the last 2.5 weeks in July) so you know which are legit. Some of these events will have 300-500 college coaches in attendance. Most colleges have budgets and they want the most for the money so they will attend events where a lot of talent is in one location.

 

IMO...other than "perhaps" AAU nationals for 15 and 16yr olds...all other events should be used for tune-up's to prepare for the college Exposure events. There are perhaps 6-8 really good events during the evaluation periods and a team can only make it to 3 or 4...so choose wisely!

 

Of course, all of this is only "my" opinion and what I have learned...I'm sure others have a lot better advice than me.

I have to agree that high school isn't enough exposure.

"Is it enough" ... for what??? It depends on your purposes and goals as a player (or those of the parents) as to what is enough.

 

No player is going to get any better if she/he will not put in the hours of sweat equity - between March and October - that is needed for improvement to take place. Period. Ironically, manyf parents and coaches seem to "want it more" than the players want it for themselves. Those kids who have the burning desire to really get better and a passion for the game will do what it takes to develop and improve. Athletes who play multiple sports will be very busy if they plan on doing justice to the sports they play. Normally, a multiple sport athlete "is a player" in one of the sports, and "she/he plays at" the other sport.

 

Now if the goal is to play beyond high school, then the exposure camps and/or higher profile camps come into play. Regardless of if the camp is able to deliver on the amount of exposure to college scouts promised or not, they are nonetheless a flesh-market for players to be seen. There is no real teaching of the game's fundamental skills, plus it is very possible for kids not in the top tier to get put out to pasture. I've seen kids get lost in the shuffle at an exposure camp, only and the following year sign with a D-I school and play for the all-star team. It's a wake-up call for many kids to find out how much talent is out there, and where they really fit into the mix. From the college scouts' perspectives, the real "prospects" will compete, will be motivated, and will step up; those who are "suspects" will shrink back and "not have much fun," as many kids tend to say nowdays.

 

If your high school coach and program are solid and have a reputation for fundamentally developing players, then that often helps in the eyes of the college coaches (non D-I, that is).

Very good advice here, I agree 100% with both Crunch Time & Retrpop.

Not near enough

Football, coaches can observe some on Friday nights and then return, for their game on Saturdays. Basketball and Baseball, often have only 1 night per week, when they could observe during their own season.

 

You can get noticed during the season but camps, combines, showcases and summer ball, is critical to evaluation by College Coaches. Players are trained in the off-season, honed during the High School season and signed, based off the summer.

The problem is that many think that simply playing "extra games" like AAU will make them better. Maybe. Maybe not. It has the likelihood to reinforce bad habits that you are are not working on. IMO the priority should be in skill development on your own with a coach and THEN try them in some games. Too many AAU games lead to too little time working by yourself or with a coach on YOUR individual game.

The problem is that many think that simply playing "extra games" like AAU will make them better. Maybe. Maybe not. It has the likelihood to reinforce bad habits that you are are not working on. IMO the priority should be in skill development on your own with a coach and THEN try them in some games. Too many AAU games lead to too little time working by yourself or with a coach on YOUR individual game.

 

I do agree that a player has to work on skill development but AAU gives the player an opportunity to do this. If the kid is playing quality competition, she will get better if she works at it. I am a strong believer that you get better by playing against better competition. In cases where you are playing lesser competition, work on the aspects of your game that need improved. If the kid does this, she will develop her skills and become a better player. The opportunity is there, it's up to the kid to make the most out of it.

AAU Ball will only help if the kid is already a pretty good player and is only looking to be seen by College Coaches. Most players in high school really can get a pretty nice ride if they will spend the most of there time working on there individual game. If you are going to go to a camp its a good Ideal to go to the camp of the school you would like to attend but be realistic and don't go to a Pat Summit camp hoping to get signed if your not already a Very Good Player. I say put in alot of time in the gym by yourself first developing your skills then worry about Camps and AAU later on .

I'm assuming we are using the label "AAU" as a description/term for a summer team. AAU is a great organization for young athletes between the ages of 10-13yrs old, but after that, the numbers drop drastically. There are roughly 100-150 teams at the AAU National tourney's between these ages; however, for various reasons the number of teams at Nationals drop by nearly half at 14yrs old and beyond.

 

I'm sure expense is a huge factor, but it also appears it's that age when teenagers make their decisions to enjoy their summer, focus on other sports, hang it up entirely, or decide to take their games a different direction. Exposure tournaments have been the wave over the past few years and are taking a large amount of talented players/teams away from AAU. These tournaments offer great exposure to athletes; however, the exposure can be a double-edge sword (good or bad exposure).

 

Just playing games against any level of competition is not nearly enough. A kid needs to buy into the fact that someone/somewhere is working harder, wants it just as bad, and refuses to fall short of reaching their dream. Once it drops from their head to their heart...it's game on!!

Society's perception that athletes must play year round, which is not getting pushed down to elementary (4th, 5th, 6th grades), is ABSURD!!!! If this topic was restricted to strictly high school age groups, that would be different, but even then these kids need a break. These kids, especially those with talent for multiple sports, should play different sports throughout the year. It protects them from repetitive motion injuries caused by playing one sport month in and month out. It also reduces the chance for burnout. AAU, Junior Olympic, Summer Camps, Year round leagues at these new "family" fun centers, lessons, etc. have a primary focus, to make money off the parents. Let's face facts - many of these athletes that are pushed by their hovering, micromanaging parents are not going to make varsity, much less play college or the pros. Yet, every year we read about athletes pushing their bodies to the limits. The high schools, especially smaller ones, actually lose out by not letting talented students play multiple sports. Discipline, work ethic, teamwork, skills, fundamentals, etc. should be the focus of sports. Somewhere along the line society lost their focus and started concentrating on trophies and scholarships, at all levels, sports, and age groups.

Society's perception that athletes must play year round, which is not getting pushed down to elementary (4th, 5th, 6th grades), is ABSURD!!!! If this topic was restricted to strictly high school age groups, that would be different, but even then these kids need a break. These kids, especially those with talent for multiple sports, should play different sports throughout the year. It protects them from repetitive motion injuries caused by playing one sport month in and month out. It also reduces the chance for burnout. AAU, Junior Olympic, Summer Camps, Year round leagues at these new "family" fun centers, lessons, etc. have a primary focus, to make money off the parents. Let's face facts - many of these athletes that are pushed by their hovering, micromanaging parents are not going to make varsity, much less play college or the pros. Yet, every year we read about athletes pushing their bodies to the limits. The high schools, especially smaller ones, actually lose out by not letting talented students play multiple sports. Discipline, work ethic, teamwork, skills, fundamentals, etc. should be the focus of sports. Somewhere along the line society lost their focus and started concentrating on trophies and scholarships, at all levels, sports, and age groups.

 

Sports have become ultra-competitive- that is the way of the world. In order to excel and keep up with the increasing amount of talent, that is gettting better at a younger age every year, you have work hard and put the time in - no way around that. I agree that there are too many kids that are pushed by their parents when they don't want it, but there are kids who want it and have some ability that need a nudge from their parents as well. A lot has to do with potential and you do need to be realistic but you also need to consider the fact that you can with hard work improve over time. I have seen a player who was told that they were not good enough, work their rear-end off and prove them all wrong. Wno had the last laugh there?

 

As for the small high schools, I think they do encourage kids to play multiple sports within their schools, it is the club sports that cause the problems because they have schedules during other school sports seasons and it is them in many instances that make them choose their club team over their school team.