Thursday, March 5, 2009
RE-post; AAU/Club Teams help/hurt HS Teams?
Surprising results in a poll taken in December last year. 65% of you say yes, spring and summer play helps high school teams, 35% of you say no, AAU/Club teams hurt high school teams. Honestly I'm shocked at the number of you that say it hurts. As a club team coach, I'd like to know what we can do to change that perception. I'd love to hear from those that voted it hurts, with an anonymous comment to find out what can be done to change that perception. I realize I have many high school coaches that read this blog also, so please help me. Let's work together. I'd like to change that perception and do more to be a benefit to the high school teams. We all want success for the kids, above everything else. Please leave a comment or send an email lanpdx2003@yahoo.com
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4 comments:
Great Topic, but unfortunately the lame Google format of your website discussion forum inhibits posting.
Excellent effort on the site, good info but the site will be hard pressed to get any real traction without participation in a forum.
As a former high school coach, the frustration with AAU/tournament coaches is parents feel the tournament coaches' opinion is worth more than the HS coaches. These parents feel since they are paying for the opinion of the tournament coach, that the tournment coach is always correct. I got fed up with hearing, "But on my tournament team...or my tournament coach says..." I have heard tournament coaches promise a college scholarship to every kid that came to their gym door with a check/cash in hand, and that's just not right. It creates delusional parents who don't realize that their tournment coach will tell them whatever they want to hear as long as their kid keeps coming and the parent keeps paying. It creates a "gotta get mine" metality with the player which in turn becomes a cancer on the team. Gone are the days of kids just wanting to be part of a team and represent their schools, and that saddens me deeply.
HOOPS:
Most club coaches opinions mean more to a kid (and that is who we are talking about, right?) than a hs coach due to the fact that 7-8 years of learning and building confidence far and away has a more positive impact than 2 years with a HS coach.
As for the scholarship carrot, HS coaches dangle that as well.
The "team" concept, or lack thereof, is a result of the HS coaches ability.
Players that are "cancer" are a result of toleration by the hs coach. The tail wagging the dog.
Some prefer watching stars as opposed to developing a team.
Only teams win championships. Teams that are strong fundamentally and confident. Traits perfected at the club level.
Good HS coaches appreciate the extra effort.
Look at the direction soccer has gone.
As a parent of a freshman, HS bball is pretty wide open. Club ball is more intense and focused on development of individual skills. Bottom line there is a need for both and they should work together. Like every sport, club is a more full year experience and those that play club often shine in school sports. The club coaches I have seen are more committed. Maybe their livelyhood depends more on individual results and reputation. I hope we can co-exist in both and not have conflict. HS coaches should appreciate those that take their summers to play club and work to blend that drive into the rest of their team.
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