The school basketball season is over. This is where the future of our youth AAU basketball begins. School basketball and AAU basketball are two completely different things. While high school basketball is a more organized and played as a team and AAU basketball is more fun and independent.Usually the three key details people look for in AAU are their players, coaches, and programs that are most suitable for their interest.
When asked Niome Walston former AAU player states “I liked AAU more than high school basketball because I felt that I had more freedom and made more friends” This statement further explains that AAU is more fun and independent than high school basketball. Many players aspire to be like someone on the other hand Niome inspires to be like Kobe Bryant, she says ” I aspire to be like Kobe Bryant because he had a lot of resilience and discipline and passion for basketball.” By this quote should help inspire many athletes to look up to someone. People have many different ways to mentally prepare themselves for a game but Niome states that “To mentally prepare myself before a game I tell myself to not be afraid to make mistakes and tell myself this is practice for the next game.”
Next, former AAU player Brandon Morris states “I was motivated to join an AAU team because I thought I was very good at a young age and I was motivated to believe that.” This comment proves that you don’t have to be at any specific level to join basketball as long as you believe in yourself. Athletes can make mistakes and it’s okay if they do and they will learn and improve from them. Brandon Morris says “During a game or practice when I make a mistake I tell myself to worry about the next play and I have teammates that are there to help me correct my mistakes and learn from it.” This quotes states that its okay to make mistakes and you’ll always have someone to be by your side if you need help with anything. Many athletes struggle to keep their grades up during their sports season and if you don’t keep your grades up you’ll be ineligible to play. For instance Brandon says “I just do all my work in class, I try to finish it so I don’t have to worry about it later on.
Furthermore coaches have different varieties of coaching. Coach Von says ” My coaching style is more what they call a players coach. I really want to be able to connect with my players at the same time you get to understand what I need for you and then also give you some freedom to be able to still play your game, but play it in a way that helps the team be successful” This proves that their are different types of coaches that have different coaching styles and want to connect more with their players.
Coaches have different preferences of who they decide to coach, whether its an AAU team or a school team. Coach Von states that “I like coaching all levels for me. Its about the personal relationship on my AAU team. We run harder concepts, but as far as without school team is about teaching the game and actually teaching the love of the game so you know that’s more beneficial than the other, but I truly love just coaching. And I love my high school team so that was my first year being a head coach there and I´m really enjoying that so if I had to choose, I would say right now that one has a little bit more love for me than my AAU team.” This quote proves the different concepts of an AAU team than a high school team.
All coaches have something to get them going and have a motivated but Coach Von stated what motivated him was ” I had a lady asked me, Melody Usher , she asked me to coach a boys and girls club basketball team. After I fell in love with it. I just love the aspect of teaching and I wish I would’ve had the same kind of teacher, plus I knew some mentors and coaches that were similar to me so I want to be able to give that same love back. The next generation is something that definitely motivates me to coach because I just love to be able to give back and teach the game to the next generation.¨ This is what helps Coach Von stay motivated into doing what he loves doing.
Athletes and Parents look into the AAU programs to see which one is most suitable for their child and to see if they like their program. AAU stands for Amateur, Athletic, Union, if you didn’t already know. Many athletes join AAU for fun or if they want to get better at the sport. AAU programs put you on a certain team depending on your skills. As Coach Von said before that he teaches his AAU team more complex skills and plays for a certain level they are one as for high school they teach you the basics but also can be complex. Choosing an AAU team is important because you need to choose a program that is most suitable for your interest and has what you’re looking for.
