PERCEPTION VS REALITY: High School and AAU Basketball
By IndiJohn
Remember the days when all you wanted to do was play ball? Sure you went to school, maybe you held a part‑time job, and you spent a little time with your family. But during every other waking moment, you wanted to be on the court. That desire is a reality for today’s high school players. There is a game or a practice for these players to attend most of the time. Because a player’s time and talent are so in demand from high school and club coaches, it seems to create a rift between the two factions. The player, who often wants to appease both sides, is put in situations to have to disappoint one or the other.
High school and club coaches both play a significant role in the development and care of high school athletes. In most cases, both sides have the best interest of the player at hand, and they want what is best for the athlete. But both have different visions of what is best for their club or their team, and sometimes these factors get in the way of what is best for the player. The two sides come at issues from different angles and often times high school and club coaches are unfamiliar with the roles the other side plays. It is this lack of information, communication, and understanding of the purpose of the other that ends up hurting the player.
If we take a step back and look at perceptions associated with club and high school basketball, it is clear to see the disconnect. Let’s see if perception truly meets the reality.
THE PERCEPTION OF AAU BASKETBALL
Club ball is associated as a game that focuses on fast pace, pressing defenses, and a lack of strategic play. The criticism of the travel ball is that the coaching is inferior to that of high school ball and that it glorifies individual play as opposed to team play. There is a thought that club teams focus on playing a large amount of games and spend little time on practice and teaching the game. There are theories abound that club coaches are and use players to help build their status in the coaching ranks.
There is no true barrier to entry to become a club coach. In essence, anybody can do it. This lack of entry barrier also eliminates any type of interview process, background check, or required education level to run a club. Because of these factors, one perception formed is that uneducated hustlers and possible criminals are at the forefront of the game.
The element of money making comes into play in the club scene. Often times, parents pay large sums of money for their kids to travel and play ball. The perception is that the entry costs and door fees are filling the pockets of tournament directors and sponsors alike. There are media and shoe companies clamoring to find the next stars and monetize their successes.
Finally, the recruiting of players is at the forefront of the club scene. The perception is that the main goal of a club coach is to get his player a scholarship to play in college. The whole goal of the coach is to get in front of as many college coaches as possible and convince them that his guy is the best. In order to be able to talk to college coaches, a club coach has to have players. That creates a dog‑eat‑dog world of getting players to play for your club so that you can move them on.
THE REALITY OF AAU BASKETBALL
What is AAU Basketball?
There is no barrier to entry in the aau basketball world, but if you don’t have a proper mindset and skillset, you won’t last long. The reality of aau basketball is that of an extremely competitive world. And while there are over 900 teams across the country, only a few survive for long periods of time. There are a few big fish that have been swimming in this club ball ocean for a long time. To compete with them, young club coaches must quickly adapt to the world of meeting the needs of their players. Or their players will leave and join on with more established clubs.
The coaches in the aau game are at a disadvantage in terms of court availability, practice time, and tournament schedule. Clubs are only able to rent school or city gyms when all other activities in those facilities are over. This means later practices, weekend practices, and/or practices at facilities that are not easily accessible. Often times the players go to different high schools, so it takes more effort than just heading to the gym after math class.
The practice times come at a cost. To keep prices reasonable for parents, often club coaches choose to limit the number of practices to only two or three a week. Two or three practices a week with not all of your players there would make even the best coach look like a non-strategist. In situations where the kids don’t know all of the sets or don’t have familiarity with one another, often the best way to get guys to compete and play hard is to run and press to create some easy opportunities.
Teams do play a lot of games and multiple games in a day. In large part, this too is a cost versus value issue. If a team is traveling hundreds of miles to play in a weekend event, there are some expectations that exist. Teams expect to play a certain number of games to justify their travel and costs to their family. If a team plays four to five games a weekend and plays eight or nine weekends a year, it is easy to see how a team plays forty to fifty games a season. The large number of games is not really a negative in itself. These teams wouldn’t travel if they were only getting a game or two; the value would not be there.
AAU basketball is a business. It does not have the luxury of being funded, like public school sports, by taxpayers. It is hard to be critical of the fact that money has to be a factor in the club game as a high school coach. One would be hard pressed to find many club coaches making more than full‑time teaching, high school coaches. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but only the very best make a living in the club world. In the live periods in July, tournament directors host events that feature well over 300 teams. Some of the bigger brand name events such as NY2LA, Big Foot, Full Court Press, Double Pump, and Hoop Group should be compensated for the efforts that go into running an event of that magnitude. It is hard for a high school coach, or anyone else for that matter, to grasp the amount of time and manpower it takes to run an event of that size and with that level of detail. The compensation matches the work load.
Finally, the best aau coaches are born grinders. The work ethic of the small group of these established top club heads is unmatched by most professions. There is no “off‑the‑clock” time. These men and women regularly put on twelve to sixteen hour days to be a mentor to their players, build their club brand, and network on their players behalf. The very best are well connected to college coaches, and they are heavily involved in promoting their players to the next level. The live club season runs during the offseason for college programs. So college coaches are around at these events, and they rely on the top club heads to direct their attention to the notable players. The club heads are valuable conductors for college coaches and top level players to start a relationship. The club heads provide a service, and this is a good thing.
THE PERCEPTION OF HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
High school basketball coaches have been a staple in our country for a long time. Legendary high school coaches such as Morgan Wooten of Dematha and Bob Hurley Sr. of St. Anthony’s have become much more than pillars in their communities; they are basketball Hall of Famers.
High school coaches are thought of as educators, mentors, and sometimes parental figures to the young men and women they coach. They often spend their day on the campus of the teams they coach, teaching subject matters other than basketball. Because they are on campus regularly and see their players often, they have a unique opportunity to bond with their athletes.
High school teams usually practice five days a week in the pre-season and three to four days a week in season, with a game or two rounding out the week. The season typically runs from November through March, and the schedule consists of anywhere from twenty-five to thirty games a season. Most of the games in the latter half of the season are played on consistent nights, and the travel to play an opponent is a reasonable distance. And after the New Year, teams usually only play opponents in their league.
The perception is that high school coaches are not paid much for actually coaching basketball, but because many are teachers on campus they do make a decent living. Health and retirement benefits as well as tenure are attractive attributes of the job.
Many people believe that kids and parents don’t pay for their kids to play high school ball. The taxpayers pay to fund the public school teams, and the private school teams are funded through the boosters’ clubs.
There is an idea that many high school coaches hold practice right when school gets out and are home by 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. every night. Because of this cushy schedule, there is a perception that high school coaches don’t work very hard or put in enough time on their craft.
High school teams are often thought to be more fundamentally sound than club teams. High school play style is more structured, and the players are more disciplined in their approach. This style of play seems to be easier for college coaches to evaluate, and it relates better to the college game.
There is a governing body of high school basketball. The coaches had to interview with the school to get their job. There are rules that exist on players’ eligibility and transferability to other schools. Athletes must meet academic requirements to play on school teams. There are consequences and enforcement of rules and eligibility infractions.
THE REALITY OF HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
There is no easy path to success as a high school basketball coach. Many young coaches begin as volunteer assistants at local high schools. They work their way up from the freshman and JV ranks to eventually landing a head varsity position.
Every year there is a shift in the roster, seniors graduate, younger plays come in, guys transfer, players are academically ineligible, and injuries occur. The in-season months are spent blending the older players with the newer players and trying to find some continuity within the group.
Because of the bond shared between high school player and coach, the expectation levels of parents and community rise. The expectation of parents often has to do with the coach’s approach to their son or daughter. The community expectation has to do with the team being successful on the court, so as to promote a positive vibe in the area. All of the games, positive or negative, are going to be the cover story to the local sports section of the newspaper the next day.
While some coaches do work on campus full time, there are many others who do not. For the full‑timers, their days are spent in the classrooms or preparing lessons plans for math, history, or physical education classes. Their prep periods are the only time where they get to put a little time into strategizing for an upcoming opponent. High school coaches utilize game film as a tool to help with their game planning. And to be used as an efficient tool, this film breakdown takes hours of quality time. For the off‑campus coaches, a stipend of $3,000-$7,000 is what they make for an entire season. They hold down full‑time jobs and devote their time and effort around their workday to coach a team.
Over the course of the last few years, there have been many budgetary cuts to the educational system in our country. This has had a devastating effect on high school sports programs and coaches alike. Some schools have been forced to cut athletics all together from their schools. In some cases, schools offer only varsity programs and have had to cut the freshman and JV teams. More and more and due to these cuts, coaches are off campus because schools have not been able to hire full-time teachers with benefits.
The main result of the budget cuts is that parents and kids pay to play (in most cases) at these schools. The taxpayers and boosters’ clubs might be able to assist with the finances, but the truth is that even in the public schools, many kids pay to play. Fundraising is mandatory, not a luxury, for these coaches and programs.
THE JIST
The take‑away message from this article is simple: There is an important role played by high school coaches and club coaches alike. In both worlds, there are extraordinary role models, mentors, and leaders. There are many men and women who give their passion, time, and effort to better the youth they encounter. These coaches should be commended no matter what side of this platform they are on.
The coaches who put in the time to work at their craft, develop relationships, and have the best interest of the kids at hand are the ones who rise to the top on both sides. These are the ones who young coaches should look up to and model. The sad reality is that for one reason or another, there are some coaches on both sides of the fence who may not work as hard and may not have the best interest of the kids at hand. They need to be weeded out, and in time, they will be.
Please have respect for the men and women who coach high school aged kids. Please understand the time and dedication that is put in to this craft. The few who are able to make a living in this profession should be applauded, not condemned. These are the few who have struggled to work their way up the chain to be the best at what they do. We want those people working with our kids and sharing their stories of success with these young people.
Basketball is a game of passion and is loved by people around the world. The competition, passion, and grace of this game are what bring us all together. The reality is that club and high school coaches are working towards a common goal. And when they work together for the betterment of their players, everyone wins.
