I'm not even sure if I'll stick with this or not. But I feel I need a sounding board. And if nobody ever reads this, well that's just fine. My intent is to voice my opinion for someone, somewhere in internet land to read it. I will say that I've voiced my opinion and concerns in the past and it's impact our experience. More on that later.
This is for my opinion and my opinion only. If you disagree, you are welcome to comment. But understand this is not a "tell all" of any sort of dirty secrets of the program. i won't even claim that my words represent actual events. Why do I say this? It's so if by some strange chance anyone from the program reads it, they can't say I'm bad mouthing anyone or anything.
My daughter is in a AAU basketball program. It's been a mostly positive experience but there's some negative aspects to it.
At the heart of the program, the intent is to develop girl basketball players into better athletes so that they perhaps can play at the high school, college, or even pro level. One girl from the program is in the WNBA.
It's run much like a college or advanced high school program. You have to earn your playing time. While they try and work in all skill levels, if you're not a top player, your game minutes may be limited unless your team has a huge lead or is getting blown out.
The program is directed by one person, call him Ben. There is a board of directors however I think they may in name only. Brian runs the show and makes the rules. Which is fine with me because he's the one that started it all. I simply don't understand why it's called a board of directors instead of a parent committee.
My daughter is a solid player and is improving but is not a star player in her age group. She'll have 2 teams to pick from next spring: Team A with the top players and good coaches (moms of 2 of girls on the team). Team B with the "leftovers" and a coach who is a high school student and member of the program. The student is a good coach but she's not at the level of the mom coaches simply from lack of experience.
On Team A, the head coach is the mom of a very aggressive point guard who doesn't like to give up the ball. Many of the players and parents have complained about this. My daughter played for this coach in the fall (AAU's primary season is spring but has fall and winter opportunities as well). The coach did a great job reeling in her daughter and getting her to use her teammates more. But she has a way to go to reach the level of what an elite point guard should be (my opinion). A fantastic coach. Demands maximum effort no matter your skill level and is encouraging the same to all. Privately I'm sure she's harder on her own kid but that comes with the territory.
The assistant coach is also a mom of a player on Team A. She's different. She always gives me the impression she's trying to establish a dominant position when talking with her. I never get a sense of just chatting with someone. It's entirely possible I'm reading her wrong. Her level of enthusiasm is noticeably different for the top players.
Now is this any different from what happens in college? Likely not. But is it appropriate for elementary school aged girls who are trying to learn confidence and teamwork? To me, you want to offer more encouragement to your less talented players in hopes they develop.
Ben, the director of program has a similar attitude. It's never harsh. But noticeably absent. Reading the site is like reading his personal blogs and it boasts of achievement and praise from parents of players who he helped through adversity. But read a little deeper and it's from parent of top tier players. Absent is any accolades from a player who was just average and raised her game to make her high school team. Now maybe it's a case of that doesn't make for interesting reading.
I try and volunteer to help with as much as I can. I run the clock or keep the stats as I don't know enough about basketball to really coach in a game. While waiting for a game to start, Ben was next to me and I observed the interactions with players and parents. He notices everyone one of them going by. But who are the ones that get more than just a polite smile? The top tier players and their parents. The average players and their parents get a courteous head nod and that's it.
Now maybe this is just a part of a larger overall sociological mindset I'm not getting. The program has skill session/practices where player from 3 different teams and ages work on fundamentals. I had some paperwork to catch up on so I sat away from everyone and watched my daughter between pages. When I was done, I observed the parents. The ones with the top players were all grouped together and chatting away. There is even one dad of a top player who likes to keep to himself but is drawn in.
Is it a big "clique" I'm just not aware of? Maybe.
More later.
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