Blog The Summer Circuit
December 28th, 2007A friend forwarded an article from the City of Palms Tournament which featured some of the top players and teams in the nation. The article interviewed some of the top coaches about their perceptions of the youth development system.
Holy Cross High School (Flushing, N.Y.) Head Coach Paul Gilvary:
“It’s a lot different now than it used to be,” he said prior to his team winning the City of Palms’ third-place game, 74-56, over Helen Cox High of New Orleans. “I think the NCAA has caused the whole situation because of the different times of the year they allow the recruiting. The NCAA has really made the summer very, very important to the kids.”
Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) Head Coach and Athletic Director Kevin Sutton:
“We have our players in summer school and we try to look at everything as to how they do at the collegiate level academically and athletically,” Sutton said. “I feel that 85 to 90 percent of a player’s improvement takes place during the summer. We try to structure our summer around our team’s improvement. If our players continue to improve, that will attract the attention of the college coaches.
“We have 18 to 20 players on Division I or Division II scholarships,” he added. “Exposure, to me, is sometimes often overrated and overstated. As a former college coach, I think it’s better to go see a kid when he is in his more natural environment. That way, I can get a more accurate evaluation of him.”
Head Coach Matt Herting of Bishop Verot in Fort Myers, FL:
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, you get to play against great competition in the summer.’ I think you get to play against some great competition, but a lot of times you play against bad basketball, which is a problem. AAU coaches are at a disadvantage. A lot of the time, they don’t get much time for practice. And it’s so liquid. If a kid gets mad at me, he can’t just leave Bishop Verot and go play somewhere. In AAU, you can do that.”
Tom Tietze, publisher of Kansas City Basketball Abstract:
“One of the problems we’ve got in this country as far as basketball goes is that kids are playing too many games. They don’t do enough practicing. I’m not sure if that’s gonna change.”
December 29th, 2007 at 2:08 am
I am an AAU coach and also coach as an assistant at the local HS. I agree with the argument that it is NCAA rules that have changed the entire process and put increased weight on summer basketball. Athletes sign in the fall of their senior year, so that their senior year in HS is no longer as critical as it once was. For many elite players they “sign” even before the fall of their senior years.
Summer basketball takes on a different weight then what it used to, or what it should, due to the fact that it is also convenient for coaches to go to one location and see say 50 players that are perhaps on their list to look at rather than bop around trying to get to see kids play HS games while also coaching their own college teams.
But one of the things I have really noticed is the difference in the intensity of AAU play (even at the highest levels — my team went to D1 AAU Nationals and played in some major showcases such as Boo Williams and LeBron James) and HS play. HS play actually has that intensity — the crowd, the stakes, etc. I would rather look at a kid and how he reacts to that pressure (hitting a front end of a 1 and 1 with .10 left and a 1 point lead) than watch the pure athleticism that one can witness at AAU tournaments. Of course, when we are talking about elite athletes the size and athleticism is there. What we have to get a sense of is the mental aspects.
Finally, I do agree with Brian’s main emphasis in his book and his newsletter. For the vast majority of kids playing AAU ball, the focus on fundamentals and footwork and athletic training is more important than playing in another “exposure” event if they want to improve as a player season to season. We stress to our players all the time “Basketball is played between November and March, but basketball Players are made between March and November.” And as a coach I try to measure my own success on how well the kids improve and are able to contribute to their HS programs year to year. So I think Brian’s focus should help get the youth system in this sport back on track … and I think there are a lot of us who have been around the game for 20 or 30 years who completely agree with him and in our own smaller way trying to do “the right thing” in focusing on fundamentals and development rather than just “exposure”. But for the elite players, this is ironically, harder to persuade because the NCAA rules are fighting against it.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Kevin Sutton continues to impress me. Saw him go through his whole routine of tennis ball work with his players…balance,hand-eye,quickness etc. some drills w/tennis balls Nash does also. AAU hmmm, some Canadian teams being either wanting to “showcase” players or in close proximity to the USA (distance wise) save money by playing in tourneys that cost much less than Canadian tourneys. The team my son played on participated in AAU for aforesaid reasons. Doubleheaders with 10 or 15 minutes between games, triple-headers! INSANE! Well it helped me discover chocolate milk as a quick energy cycle rebuilder (carbs and protein! 3 to 1) Is there a reason behind playing consecutive games that is not anti-development?
December 31st, 2007 at 2:27 am
I looked for an email address for Sutton to interview him for my Hard2Guard Newsletters but have not been able to locate one. If anyone has it, please email me.
As for AAU, I finished a workout yesterday and there were some AAU games being played. I had to walk around to find the women running the facility, so I walked past several of the games. One team, the coach subbed players every time they made a mistake. He’d turn around and yell at a player to go get another player. By the time there was a dead ball, he’d be making 5 for 5 substitutions. I walked past the parents and I honestly could not believe parents sit back and put up with it, especially when there are dozens of choices. I don’t understand. How are kids - they were probably 11 or 12 - going to learn if they never get to play through a mistake or figure things out for themselves, but instead get punished for every mistake? How do you grow if you are scared to make a mistake? Why would you try something new if it means getting taken out of the game?
January 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Coach McCormick;
I have corresponded with Coach Sutton a few times, try this address - edit.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Thanks.