Choosing the Right Team
The right team will help your young athlete get better. It doesn’t matter if you lose every game, your team needs to help your player get better. Find a coach that will help you get better. That’s your only goal in middle school basketball—GET BETTER.
What does the right team look like?
As a parent, your main concern should be finding the best possible team for your young athlete. This means looking for the team that will allow your child to play the most minutes, regardless of whether it's the A, B, C, or D team. The most important thing for your young player at this stage is to have enough playing time to work on their in-game skills. In middle school, the primary goal is to improve and get better, not necessarily to win or be ranked. Therefore, if you feel that your child is not in the best situation, it's perfectly okay to leave and find a better team that will help them grow and develop.
Here is a list of questions for AAU parents when choosing or choosing to leave a team:
Will my kid play a good amount of minutes?
Do the other players help my kid get better?
Does my player enjoy playing with the other players on his team?
Is the organization supportive or development-focused?
Is the organization’s administration organized? (Trust us, this matters.)
Does the coach focus on skill development?
Does this system fit the way my kids play basketball?
When choosing a middle school AAU basketball team, ask these important questions. If you answer yes to 5 out of 7, you're on the right track.
