How to Select an AAU Team

For everyone considering post-high school play for their athletes and selecting summer team options, it’s important to understand what’s going on with the recruitment landscape today. In this article, I unpack the current landscape of recruitment and provide some practical advise that will surely help you make the best decisions for your aspiring athlete!

For everyone considering post-high school play for their athletes and selecting summer team options, it’s important to understand what’s going on with the recruitment landscape today.
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• FACT: There are far more prospective basketball athletes than there are open spots in college.
• FACT: Colleges are not recruiting HS players like they used to. HS athletes are now on the bottom of college recruitment lists after re-recruiting current players, JUCO and International transfers, and collegiate development players.
• FACT: When colleges lose current players to the transfer portal, they want a “grown man” replacement not an inexperienced high school athlete. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGN3MptRg43/?igsh=OXZsZ3YzcWxwaHB4

So what does this mean?

Should HS athletes still aspire to play college ball?

Should families invest in summer training, club teams, or AAU-type events for their athletes?

I believe the answer to both of those questions is, “Yes”, with a condition.

Playing basketball at the collegiate level is still very realistic for HS players provided that they and their families approach the process with an appropriate strategy based on the individual player.

Most players imagine going “D1” in the NCAA, yet there are many other viable options to have a collegiate basketball experience! NCAA Division II and III, NAIA, and NJCAA Divisions I, II, and III are all available, plus JUCO options and overseas options.

When choosing Summer “club” teams, families should ask serious questions about the amount of player development, emphasis on academic performance and the type and level of tournaments in which their child will be playing. Getting competitive gameplay experience, combined with structured skill and leadership development is extremely important - more so than just striving for earning a spot on a “circuit” or shoe team that’s going to “play in front of coaches”. Since colleges are sourcing athletes from everywhere else BEFORE high school students, tournaments are even more important as an extension of your player’s development rather than a direct link to a college scholarship offer.

Other aspects like building your player’s confidence, teaching them communication and accountability, teammate qualities, work ethic, time management, nutritional guidance, rest and recovery strategies and fun are also important and should be considered.

(Yes, I said, “Fun”!)

So what is the right approach for selecting a team with your child?

For Youth Teams (grades 5-8), focus on local competitive play with a development-first focused program. Extensive regional or national travel is not necessary, in my opinion, for the reasons we have discussed here. It’s an unnecessary expense of time and resources with no tangible recruitment gain. Find a program where your child feels encouraged and motivated, and where they have fun with room to develop their unique role and personality in the game. Skill development and game IQ should be a top focus, with an appropriate level of individual and team accountability expected of all participants. Yes, this is still competitive ball, so you’re making a step up from recreational level play. But keep things in perspective and stay focused on keeping your child’s motivation high and enthusiasm about the sport rising to prepare them for the next level.

For High School Teams (grades 9-12) select a program that, most importantly, has designed their competitive schedule for the benefit of the unique players on the roster, not for their brand. What I mean is, considering the current landscape of recruitment, is the club offering a competitive schedule for local/regional/national travel, including appropriate level of play in each of those events, that best fits your child’s actual standing as a prospect? Or is the schedule designed to continue to promote the brand as a “top program”?

Creating a player-first competitive schedule takes humility, honest assessments of the players available, and a commitment to partnering with the families to facilitate a beneficial schedule that matches the likely future college opportunities for those kids. Academic performance, Skills development, film education and game IQ, and position-specific leadership and role definitions should be a standard part of the program’s offering and explained up front prior to your child signing with the team.
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Unless your child is physically and statistically in the top 3% of players nationally, then chasing a shoe-branded program or the “strongest” competitive schedule available is likely going to do more harm than good for your child in the long run. The path to collegiate sports for most kids today is changing and requires your family to have a defined strategy.

No matter which path you choose, there is an investment of time and resources needed to help your child gain the development and experiences that will equip them for continuing their athletic career after High School. It’s important to understand the current recruitment environment and to slow down, ask good questions, and continue to make the best choices for your child based on an honest assessment of their current state and, with counsel from an experienced resource, their future potential. Doing so, you can chart the right path for your child and advance confidently in that direction.

If anyone has any specific questions and would like to set up a time to talk to me, I am always happy to assist. Shine has structured our program from the start to meet the needs of our athletes and we have a solid history of success (100% placement) for those athletes who wanted to keep their basketball careers going after HS. And for those who are looking for a life-building, positive experience in this sport during their MS/HS years, I believe we have one of the best options available anywhere.

Contact me anytime for assistance, share this message with other families who may also be building a plan for their kids, and I’ll see you on the court at our upcoming training and tryouts!
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Coach Rob
Director, Shine Basketball Academy
720-263-1154 call/text
[email protected]