Why Play AAU?

There are many reasons why young athletes may decide to play basketball for a travel team. Many athletes play because they are able to play in areas that they have never been to before, they get a chance to play with a different set of teammates than they do at their high school, they could also want the free gear that they may get if they are sponsored, or they could simply just want to improve their skills. For travel ball among high school players, their season starts around late March, and ends in August.

Players and Parents should want to get the most they can out of playing travel ball, especially with how high some of the registration fees can be to play. Kevin McCarthy explains how if a team doesn't practice or offer skills training, one should take a long look at the program before putting money into it. A lot of money is put into programs that are not giving out the most for their kids.

A good Travel ball program should be able to provide great teaching of fundamental skill work, competitive games, practice time, uniforms, and a great overall experience. Whether teams decide to play their games locally, or travel out of the area, a good program should always make sure that each kid and parent, are getting the most out of what they are paying for. Along with researching the program, getting good coaching is also very important in making a decision to play travel ball.

5 time NBA champion Power Forward Robert Horry, spoke at a Thuzio function in which he stated that he hates AAU Basketball because of the lack of teaching. Getting good coaching is key to playing travel ball because it allows the kids to learn how to play the game the right way. It is no different than a student going to a school that doesn't have good teaching. Every young athlete along with their parent or guardian, wants to improve their skills. Having a program that has a coach or coaches, that will emphasize improving the players more than winning games, is an ideal situation for any athlete and their parents.

Playing travel ball can be a great experience for young athletes, as they get a chance to make lifelong relationships with teammates, coaches and parents. At the end of the day, it is all for the kids and programs should make sure that these kids are getting a good experience from playing AAU basketball. AAU has good reasons on why you should play, as well as bad reasons but the key is making sure you get the most out of what you are paying for. Good coaching, fundamental skill work, practice time, competitive games, and building a network of people through basketball, are all reasons why a young athlete should play travel ball. It has become the prerequisite for basketball here in the United States, and it is only growing bigger.

In Northern California, there are a lot of good programs who have coaches that also train kids individually. Programs such as the Oakland Soldiers, Splash City, Team Lillard, Team Rampage and more, all use the efforts of their coaching, and willingness to emphasize fundamental training, as a way to recruit more players into their program. In the Bay Area, the top high school players play for the organizations that will provide fundamental skills training, to make them better for the next school year. This shows that teaching the game the right way, along with developing players, will always attract talent.