The NCAA allows three "live" recruiting periods during July, 12th-16th, 19th-23th, and 26th-30th. These live periods allow D1 coaches (along with D2, D3, and all others) to go watch players, as long as the event they are at are "NCAA certified." Many high major coaches are criss-crossing the country trying to "babysit" their top targets, while lower levels are doing some of that along with evaluating players to make their player pool bigger, or trying unearth the next CJ McCollum.
With all of that being said, how many games are these kids playing during each live period? First, it depends on how good the team is. Second, how "bad" is the tournament. The better teams usually play the most amount of games because they make it to the championship. If the team is good, they are looking at eight or nine games in the tournament. That's over a three or four day period. Think about that a second...
We, as adults, are asking kids to perform to their best of their abilities eight or nine times in a short period of time in order to help the team and more importantly (during this time frame) be seen by college coaches. That's insane. There is no way that the kids will be able to perform to their best of their abilities this many times in that short period of time. Wait, there's more. They potentially have to do it three times in July.
Playing games is fun, but playing 24 games over the course of 15 days (usually less) is KILLING their bodies. And I haven't mentioned that these same kids are also traveling all over the country to go to these tournaments to be seen. For example, Howard Pulley (local EYBL team) was in Augusta, GA last week, is in Lawrence, KS this week, and off to Vegas for the final period. That's a lot of travel for anyone, let alone kids trying to get a scholarship or be seen by any college coach. Pulley's travel is the norm for almost all sneaker affiliated teams as well as the next tier of AAU programs.
The next issue we have is that HS coaches are trying to get these same kids to participate in their own workouts/practices/tournaments (myself included). It makes it unbelievably taxing on these kids' bodies. They need rest. And WAY more of it.
We've heard the debate over and over in the NBA about players getting rest during the regular season to help prepare their bodies for the playoffs. The Spurs have been resting players since at least 2011 and have gotten fined by the NBA because of it. Here is Coach Pop talking about it.
Think about this for a second. NBA franchises are giving their players rest during the regular season while kids playing AAU can't afford to. Almost all NBA players are physically mature and can take come close to taking on 82-100 games in a eight month stretch. We are asking 14-18 year olds to play 25 games in a total of 19 days (theoretically speaking, usually shorter time frame) while their bodies aren't even close to being mature (for just about all of them). Please read this article by Tim Grover about injuries in the NBA.
The next and final question is, how do we fix it? My best solution would be to make a "live" period in May and then the last week of June, and take out the first week of April and the middle week of July. Helps the evaluation process gives the kids more rest between the craziness. Another possible solution would be a six game limit at tournaments. It's still a lot of games but it isn't eight or nine (which is only in the best interest of the tournament directors).
And bringing back the evaluation process to high school season isn't feasible anymore. AAU is way more efficient for college coaches. They get to see more players in a much shorter period of time and against each other.
Any other thoughts on this? And solutions?
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Building/Re-Building a College Program
I've heard a lot of rumblings over the past year about a certain program not living up to expectations. I live in Minnesota, take a guess who it is. I truly believe any new coach needs six years in order to have a true evaluation as a head coach. There are way too many variables in building a program and I talk about a lot of them below.
Year 1 -
Recruiting - Lucky to get recruits and generally it's a last ditch effort to get decent kids. Put your small stamp on the program. Have to hit the local (if there are players) recruiting area hard and build relationships with local HS and AAU coaches. If there are young stud local players, have to start getting them on campus.
Playing - Hearing a different voice, sometimes success happens, especially with a veteran group.
Other - Building a staff, evaluate the current roster, and recruit (see above). Not to mention family situation, etc.
Year 2 -
Recruiting - Trying to figure out what you can and can't get in order to be successful. This class usually is an experiment. Continue to hit the local scene hard and get underclassmen to campus as many times as possible (this has to continue throughout your tenure).
Playing - Trying to figure out how to mesh current players with your recruits. If you win in Year 1, then expectations will be high and unrealistic.
Year 3 -
Recruiting - Truly figure out what you can get in order to be successful. This should be your statement class.
Playing - This year is tough. A lot of it depends on what the previous brought in for his/her last few classes. Those players aren't yours but they are upperclassmen and this is their third year playing under you. "Your players" are only freshmen and will take their lumps, especially in a high major conference.
Year 4 -
Recruiting - Another year of getting your guys that you know will be successful.
Playing - This is when you feel you can make a move in the standings. "Your guys" are in their second year and your first class is now upperclassmen. Might not win a ton of games, especially on the road but you will play a ton of close games. This is probably the last year with the previous coach's recruits even though they have played longer for you than the previous coach, you still didn't recruit them.
Year 5 -
Recruiting - This might be the year you go after that top tier recruit that can take you to the next level. All the same things from above.
Playing - Now "your guys" are upperclassmen. There is now no excuses for you not to win. They still aren't seniors but having a bunch of upperclassmen with experience win you games...at any level (unless they stink).
Year 6 -
Recruiting - All of the Above
Playing - This is your signature season. Your first true recruiting class are seniors and every single player on the roster was one you recruited. If you can't win in Year 6 I'm not sure you should have a job.
In closing, a coach needed six years to truly show their worth. Six years is void unless they violate NCAA rules or bring in players that continually are in the police blotter.
ATTENTION Gopher Fans - The last time the Men's Basketball team won, they cheated. The program has been a mess for years. Give Pitino some time because Tubby's last few recruiting classes were awful.
Year 1 -
Recruiting - Lucky to get recruits and generally it's a last ditch effort to get decent kids. Put your small stamp on the program. Have to hit the local (if there are players) recruiting area hard and build relationships with local HS and AAU coaches. If there are young stud local players, have to start getting them on campus.
Playing - Hearing a different voice, sometimes success happens, especially with a veteran group.
Other - Building a staff, evaluate the current roster, and recruit (see above). Not to mention family situation, etc.
Year 2 -
Recruiting - Trying to figure out what you can and can't get in order to be successful. This class usually is an experiment. Continue to hit the local scene hard and get underclassmen to campus as many times as possible (this has to continue throughout your tenure).
Playing - Trying to figure out how to mesh current players with your recruits. If you win in Year 1, then expectations will be high and unrealistic.
Year 3 -
Recruiting - Truly figure out what you can get in order to be successful. This should be your statement class.
Playing - This year is tough. A lot of it depends on what the previous brought in for his/her last few classes. Those players aren't yours but they are upperclassmen and this is their third year playing under you. "Your players" are only freshmen and will take their lumps, especially in a high major conference.
Year 4 -
Recruiting - Another year of getting your guys that you know will be successful.
Playing - This is when you feel you can make a move in the standings. "Your guys" are in their second year and your first class is now upperclassmen. Might not win a ton of games, especially on the road but you will play a ton of close games. This is probably the last year with the previous coach's recruits even though they have played longer for you than the previous coach, you still didn't recruit them.
Year 5 -
Recruiting - This might be the year you go after that top tier recruit that can take you to the next level. All the same things from above.
Playing - Now "your guys" are upperclassmen. There is now no excuses for you not to win. They still aren't seniors but having a bunch of upperclassmen with experience win you games...at any level (unless they stink).
Year 6 -
Recruiting - All of the Above
Playing - This is your signature season. Your first true recruiting class are seniors and every single player on the roster was one you recruited. If you can't win in Year 6 I'm not sure you should have a job.
In closing, a coach needed six years to truly show their worth. Six years is void unless they violate NCAA rules or bring in players that continually are in the police blotter.
ATTENTION Gopher Fans - The last time the Men's Basketball team won, they cheated. The program has been a mess for years. Give Pitino some time because Tubby's last few recruiting classes were awful.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Overspending in College Athletics
Just the other day a report came out regarding the happening of the University of Minnesota and their athletic department over the past several years. It was hoping to find more sexual harassment issues and overspending by the previous leadership. It didn't find any sexual harassment issues but it did find that the several staff members spent money on things they "shouldn't have" according to the report.
Most people will look at the numbers that the athletic department has spent and say those numbers ridiculous and they didn't have to spend that much. I just want to put some things into perspective and let everyone know how much spending is done at the high major D1 level.
First thing I'll talk about is working with boosters. The idea behind fundraising for college athletics is that you have to spend money to make money. Athletic department staff CAN NOT go to Chipotle to meet with a perspective booster. They have to a go to a nice restaurant or steak house. Why? That is where the boosters normally eat. You HAVE to get a $100 bottle of wine because that is what the booster drinks. The hope is that those staff members can seal the deal at some point in order for that specific person to donate a significant amount of money to the department. Imagine if the development department has five dinners with the same booster in order to "seal the deal." That might cost the athletic department well over a $1,000. It's not like the staff member is going to say, "Sorry, we can't pay for your alcohol, it's against school policy." That's bad business.
While I worked at West Virginia there are many instances of overspending by the athletic department. During the Big East Tournament in New York City, the program stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel for four days. On top of the players, coaches, and support staff were taken care of, many people in the athletic department came as well. Essentially as a paid vacation. All of their meals and accommodations were taken care of. We were eating breakfast one morning, at the hotel, and they didn't have something that was pretty common for breakfast and this is what was said, "We are paying $40 per person for breakfast, you better go find it...and quickly." There was about 40 people eating that morning. And that was the norm for the three mornings we ate breakfast there. Yep...that's $4800 in three days, just for breakfast.
I'll take another example during my second year at West Virginia. The team played in the Sweet 16 in Phoenix, AZ vs. Xavier. The athletic department got a charter flight for the trip. The team, coaches, support staff as well as their families (kids included) made the trip. The band, the cheerleaders, and just about half of the athletic staff (and their spouses) that weren't associated with a specific team. We basically took over a hotel and had two or three charter buses for the whole crew. The NCAA only pays for the players and coaches. Again, a paid vacation for many of the people on the trip.
Now onto the football bowl system. I could easily write a whole blog on this but I'll try to be short. Teams will usually travel to the game a week in advance in order to get acclimated to the weather they are playing in. Just think about that a second. The whole football and support staff get a charter flight to a specific destination and then stay in a hotel for a week. The team and the support staff is around 150 people (that might be low). The really nice hotel they stay in costs $150 per night. Let's say that's 75 rooms for six nights at $150 for a total of roughly $67,500 just for the football team. If the game is in a nice location more members of the athletic department will come along with their spouses. The coaching staffs' spouses and kids will travel as well as the cheerleaders and the band. That's another charter flight and another set of hotel rooms at the same cost. That's a total of $135,000 in hotel costs for the week.
At Minnesota the athletes and staff get $40 per day for meals on away trips. Imagine if everyone got that amount. Each person gets $240 and you have roughly 250 people on the trip. That's another $60,000 right there. We can even lower that to $50,000. Can't forget about the charter flights for all those people too. That's probably close to $300,000, $150,000 of it completely unnecessary.
Last thing I'll talk about in regards to the bowl game is how it's set up as far as tickets go. Each school is required to sell a certain amount of tickets for the game. If the school doesn't sell ALL of those tickets they are "forced" to buy them and give them back to the bowl. The bowl then says the tickets will go to "local charities." When I was at WVU, the football team made the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. The school sold around 10,000 tickets of their 17,500 allotment. They were forced to pay for those extra 7,500 tickets. Those extra tickets cost around $80-$100 each. Another unnecessary and significant expense for the athletic department.
I could probably go on and on about this stuff. Most people don't know about this stuff. Last thing, when I was in college we got $17 per day from the athletic department for meals for the whole day. We generally didn't stay at hotels that had a free breakfast. It wasn't ideal but we were fortunate enough to have a coach that did a lot of fundraising to help us get good meals whenever we were on the road. And that is one of the big differences between big time D1 and D3.
Most people will look at the numbers that the athletic department has spent and say those numbers ridiculous and they didn't have to spend that much. I just want to put some things into perspective and let everyone know how much spending is done at the high major D1 level.
First thing I'll talk about is working with boosters. The idea behind fundraising for college athletics is that you have to spend money to make money. Athletic department staff CAN NOT go to Chipotle to meet with a perspective booster. They have to a go to a nice restaurant or steak house. Why? That is where the boosters normally eat. You HAVE to get a $100 bottle of wine because that is what the booster drinks. The hope is that those staff members can seal the deal at some point in order for that specific person to donate a significant amount of money to the department. Imagine if the development department has five dinners with the same booster in order to "seal the deal." That might cost the athletic department well over a $1,000. It's not like the staff member is going to say, "Sorry, we can't pay for your alcohol, it's against school policy." That's bad business.
While I worked at West Virginia there are many instances of overspending by the athletic department. During the Big East Tournament in New York City, the program stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel for four days. On top of the players, coaches, and support staff were taken care of, many people in the athletic department came as well. Essentially as a paid vacation. All of their meals and accommodations were taken care of. We were eating breakfast one morning, at the hotel, and they didn't have something that was pretty common for breakfast and this is what was said, "We are paying $40 per person for breakfast, you better go find it...and quickly." There was about 40 people eating that morning. And that was the norm for the three mornings we ate breakfast there. Yep...that's $4800 in three days, just for breakfast.
I'll take another example during my second year at West Virginia. The team played in the Sweet 16 in Phoenix, AZ vs. Xavier. The athletic department got a charter flight for the trip. The team, coaches, support staff as well as their families (kids included) made the trip. The band, the cheerleaders, and just about half of the athletic staff (and their spouses) that weren't associated with a specific team. We basically took over a hotel and had two or three charter buses for the whole crew. The NCAA only pays for the players and coaches. Again, a paid vacation for many of the people on the trip.
Now onto the football bowl system. I could easily write a whole blog on this but I'll try to be short. Teams will usually travel to the game a week in advance in order to get acclimated to the weather they are playing in. Just think about that a second. The whole football and support staff get a charter flight to a specific destination and then stay in a hotel for a week. The team and the support staff is around 150 people (that might be low). The really nice hotel they stay in costs $150 per night. Let's say that's 75 rooms for six nights at $150 for a total of roughly $67,500 just for the football team. If the game is in a nice location more members of the athletic department will come along with their spouses. The coaching staffs' spouses and kids will travel as well as the cheerleaders and the band. That's another charter flight and another set of hotel rooms at the same cost. That's a total of $135,000 in hotel costs for the week.
At Minnesota the athletes and staff get $40 per day for meals on away trips. Imagine if everyone got that amount. Each person gets $240 and you have roughly 250 people on the trip. That's another $60,000 right there. We can even lower that to $50,000. Can't forget about the charter flights for all those people too. That's probably close to $300,000, $150,000 of it completely unnecessary.
Last thing I'll talk about in regards to the bowl game is how it's set up as far as tickets go. Each school is required to sell a certain amount of tickets for the game. If the school doesn't sell ALL of those tickets they are "forced" to buy them and give them back to the bowl. The bowl then says the tickets will go to "local charities." When I was at WVU, the football team made the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. The school sold around 10,000 tickets of their 17,500 allotment. They were forced to pay for those extra 7,500 tickets. Those extra tickets cost around $80-$100 each. Another unnecessary and significant expense for the athletic department.
I could probably go on and on about this stuff. Most people don't know about this stuff. Last thing, when I was in college we got $17 per day from the athletic department for meals for the whole day. We generally didn't stay at hotels that had a free breakfast. It wasn't ideal but we were fortunate enough to have a coach that did a lot of fundraising to help us get good meals whenever we were on the road. And that is one of the big differences between big time D1 and D3.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Travel Basketball at the Highest Level and Perks of it
Here is a link to a great article regarding to travel basketball (mostly known as AAU). Has some great quotes from some prominent people in the travel basketball circuit.
Sunday Special: AAU basketball a necessary step
They mention one particular player in the article and the amount of gear he has gotten from participating in a few of these events. Naturally, I took a look and here are some photos. He played at a few Nike events and one adidas event.
Before taking a look at the photos, people will ask how is all this free gear not a NCAA violation. The kids all get the gear, wear it, and then buy it. How much does "used" gear cost? The shoe companies determine that they probably cost anywhere from $25 to $50. The kids wear them, "give the gear back," and then "pay" for it. My guess is their AAU team probably "pays" for the gear and nothing actually comes out of the kid and his family's pocket.
The reason I know this because a few years ago a friend of mine coached at a high school tournament sponsored by one of the shoe companies. When the kids got to their hotel room there was a huge duffel bag full of stuff for each kid. The package included sneakers, socks, a backpack, and a jacket. One of the players posted on social media what they got. The news spread the state association. The state association said the kids had to "give the items back." The kids then "gave" the items back then paid $25 for the "used" items.
Without further waiting, here are links to the photos:
Nike Global Games
Nike Skills Academy
Adidas Gauntlet
Sunday Special: AAU basketball a necessary step
They mention one particular player in the article and the amount of gear he has gotten from participating in a few of these events. Naturally, I took a look and here are some photos. He played at a few Nike events and one adidas event.
Before taking a look at the photos, people will ask how is all this free gear not a NCAA violation. The kids all get the gear, wear it, and then buy it. How much does "used" gear cost? The shoe companies determine that they probably cost anywhere from $25 to $50. The kids wear them, "give the gear back," and then "pay" for it. My guess is their AAU team probably "pays" for the gear and nothing actually comes out of the kid and his family's pocket.
The reason I know this because a few years ago a friend of mine coached at a high school tournament sponsored by one of the shoe companies. When the kids got to their hotel room there was a huge duffel bag full of stuff for each kid. The package included sneakers, socks, a backpack, and a jacket. One of the players posted on social media what they got. The news spread the state association. The state association said the kids had to "give the items back." The kids then "gave" the items back then paid $25 for the "used" items.
Without further waiting, here are links to the photos:
Nike Global Games
Nike Skills Academy
Adidas Gauntlet
Monday, June 29, 2015
Making the Adjustment to College Hoops
I've talked about transfers before and now I'm going to talk about some of the best ways to fit in once you get on campus at your respective college or university. I think this is the toughest part of adjusting from being a high school star to generally playing no role or a complimentary role on your new team.
At the high major level you'll see most recruits arrive on campus not too long after they graduate from high school. Summer school has different sessions and it depends on when you graduate when you can get on campus. The longer you are there, the more comfortable you will be with how things work.
It's a different world and the coaches that were extremely nice to you during the recruiting process don't seem to be the same person that recruited you. Why? Coaches are trying to push your buttons and see what exactly pushes you to get better. It isn't all fun and games. The strength coach will test your physical and mental limits and force you to become a better athlete. Be honest with coaches and trainers. You'll deal with soreness and being uncomfortable more than you've ever experienced. You'll have to get through things mentally that you never imagined that you'd have to.
There are some mid-major schools that get their guys on campus during the summer but it isn't quite as prominent as it is at the high major level. The mid-major level all the the way to D3, players are arriving once school starts. There are different rules at each level that I'll talk about what players need to do.
D1 and D2 programs are all allowed to have workouts with their players during the fall. The workouts can consist of eight total hours (two on floor and six in weight room) during each "preseason" week. During this time, players HAVE to soak in a lot of information. Each program is different but some will "babysit" you in those first couple of months and others will let you figure it out.
The biggest thing for everyone is to listen to your coaches. They might be doing a bunch of things completely different than you did in high school. The language will be different and you'll have to get use to it quickly if you want to contribute right away. Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander from Kansas saw this firsthand this year. Bill Self said they weren't ready to contribute because they didn't understand what it took to play at that level.
Another thing to keep in mind at the D1 and D2 level is that coaches can only work with their players for a total of 20 hours per week during the season. That is supposed to include practice, games, weight training, and film sessions. Games are supposed to count as three hours (that was the rule when I was at WVU). Shoot-a-arounds also counted as an hour, regardless of how long they actually were. Athletes are also forced to take one day off during the week. So, coaches are supposed to figure out how to get 20 hours of work into six days. Not easy considering all the things that the athletes need to do in order to reach their potential.
At the D3 level, coaches can't be in the gym with the players until October 15. What that means, you are on your own until practice officially starts. Yes, coaches will set up times to have open gym but they can't watch (although most figure out ways to watch a little bit here or there). Coaches then have one month to "mold" freshmen or newcomers to get what they are looking for before games begin. Most programs will have "voluntary" workouts in the weight room as well. There is nothing voluntary about them. Especially as a freshman, if you aren't in the weight room, you will lag behind.
At the D3 level, there are no rules as far as time used during the week. So, coaches could have you for 30-40 hours a week if they really wanted to. Athletes at D3 are also mandated to have a day off during the week but there is no limitation on how many hours coaches can work with players.
Regardless of how many hours coaches can work with you, you have to being willing to work on your game on your own. Most colleges will give their athletes a little preference to getting into the gym at weird hours, so make sure you get in the gym or the weight room on your own. Many colleges have a shooting gun as well. The shooting machine should become your boyfriend or girlfriend. If there is one thing that can get you on the floor, shooting is definitely one of them.
Last thing to keep in mind when getting onto a college campus is that you are a freshman. What that means is that you are on the lowest part of the totem pole. Things will not come easy like they did in high school or AAU. Playing time is determined by a lot of things and none of those include your accolades from high school.
Freshmen don't play unless they are better than upperclassmen. Freshmen have a steep learning curve. Freshmen are 18 or 19 years old, upperclassmen are 21 or 22 years old. There is a big physical difference. One thing players and parents don't want to hear is this. How many incoming freshmen started and/or played significant varsity minutes as a freshman in high school? Not many, so what makes people think a freshmen can come in right away to compete and thrive against guys or girls four or fives years older than them?
Things aren't always fun for people that don't play. Most incoming freshmen have played significant minutes since they can remember, so when they don't play they decide to transfer to decide to quit. Playing college basketball mirrors life. There will be ups and downs. Hopefully, the downs make you appreciate the ups way more.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Fixing HS Basketball
Yesterday I went on a rant in regards to AAU basketball and how to fix it. Today, it's fixing the high school game. There are so many issues in regards to high school basketball, the biggest of which is making the rules universal for ALL states. Having different rules in different states is beyond ridiculous. The reason there are different rules is because a certain coach stretched the rules that they did have and now the state association didn't want to deal with it, so they made a rule.
First thing first, either have a shot clock or don't. I love the shot clock and would prefer that the high school level should have it. It forces players and coaches to make quick decisions. Detractors will talk about how athletes will take over. Well, basketball is an athletic game. It will also force coaches to get more creative to find ways to get great shots. It'll be a bunch of bad basketball with a bunch of bad shots. And there isn't this now? Bad basketball is being played regardless if there is a shot clock or not. Last thing is, it makes the game universal globally. We might not go with a :24 shot clock but getting it to a :30 or :35 makes the game more universal and I think that should be the ultimate goal.
I believe Minnesota is the only state that has halves instead of quarters. I love the idea. Every other state has four eight minute quarters. Minnesota has 18 minutes halves. It also gives players four more game minutes by moving to 18 minute halves. It would definitely change the way many coaches coach. Although, I wouldn't mind going to four 10 minute quarters. It is how the game is played internationally and I again would love to have the game universal.
Something that I would like to see is giving program more time to practice BEFORE games start during the season. I'll use my Dad as an example. He has over a month before he plays his first game and fills in some gaps with some scrimmages. In Minnesota, we could potentially have less than ten days to have tryouts and then practice in anticipation of their first game. That's just terrible for the kids and as we know, adults always put the kids first.
The last thing I want to talk about is universal rules when it comes to having contact with the athletes. Certain states allow full access to the players ALL THE TIME and others have major restrictions. I have a friend who coaches in Virginia and he started workouts with his players a week and a half after his season ended. My Dad is a coach in New York and he has access to his players all the time with the exception of the two weeks before tryouts/practice starts. Here in Minnesota, we can only work with our players in June and July.
Again, I want the rules universal. I think it would be great to have full access to your kids in both June and July. I also think that coaches should be able to use a week in both April and October to potentially coach/install different things for their players.
First thing first, either have a shot clock or don't. I love the shot clock and would prefer that the high school level should have it. It forces players and coaches to make quick decisions. Detractors will talk about how athletes will take over. Well, basketball is an athletic game. It will also force coaches to get more creative to find ways to get great shots. It'll be a bunch of bad basketball with a bunch of bad shots. And there isn't this now? Bad basketball is being played regardless if there is a shot clock or not. Last thing is, it makes the game universal globally. We might not go with a :24 shot clock but getting it to a :30 or :35 makes the game more universal and I think that should be the ultimate goal.
I believe Minnesota is the only state that has halves instead of quarters. I love the idea. Every other state has four eight minute quarters. Minnesota has 18 minutes halves. It also gives players four more game minutes by moving to 18 minute halves. It would definitely change the way many coaches coach. Although, I wouldn't mind going to four 10 minute quarters. It is how the game is played internationally and I again would love to have the game universal.
Something that I would like to see is giving program more time to practice BEFORE games start during the season. I'll use my Dad as an example. He has over a month before he plays his first game and fills in some gaps with some scrimmages. In Minnesota, we could potentially have less than ten days to have tryouts and then practice in anticipation of their first game. That's just terrible for the kids and as we know, adults always put the kids first.
The last thing I want to talk about is universal rules when it comes to having contact with the athletes. Certain states allow full access to the players ALL THE TIME and others have major restrictions. I have a friend who coaches in Virginia and he started workouts with his players a week and a half after his season ended. My Dad is a coach in New York and he has access to his players all the time with the exception of the two weeks before tryouts/practice starts. Here in Minnesota, we can only work with our players in June and July.
Again, I want the rules universal. I think it would be great to have full access to your kids in both June and July. I also think that coaches should be able to use a week in both April and October to potentially coach/install different things for their players.
I am sure there are other things that we can fix in high school basketball. Making the game similar in all states and then hopefully following all the FIBA rules would make the game better.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
The Fix Is In: How To Fix AAU
Let it be known, I had a great experience playing AAU basketball and loved every minute of it. I'm sure there are lot of kids who feel the same way as I did. With that being said, there needs to be some reform and some type of control to get the non-sense out. There is just too many people trying to take advantage of the system and the kids are the ones that get the wrong of the stick. And as we know, adults ALWAYS make it about themselv...the kids.
Don't let kids play AAU until after they have completed middle school. I understand there is a market for it and some coaches do a great job with kids BUT they should be playing another sport during the spring and potentially the summer. If you have want to have a team consisting of kids that just completed middle school and they are playing in a few tournaments for the summer, that works. It becomes overload for the kids and a lot of times it becomes too much for the family to be traveling all over the place to play games. The kids' bodies are still developing and for them to play as many games as NBA players do from the winter to the summer, can't be good for their bodies.
How many AAU programs actually charge the bare minimum for a kid to participate? I know there are quite a few expenses to play including gym time, uniforms, and tournament entry fees but that doesn't add up to $1000. By charging more, the programs are making money thus not making it about the kids. By doing this, the system becomes a business model not a service model. When adults have a business model, they tend to screw it up for the kids.
Create a model of consistency with each tournament. Kids should be playing with their age group or above it. There shouldn't be kids who have already graduated high school playing during the spring and summer. They've had their time to shine, now let others take advantage of that opportunity. If they created more 18U and 19U tournaments, I'd be fine with it. Just don't allow a 2015 kid play against a bunch of 2016/2017's all spring and summer.
Rosters must be sent in a three weeks in advance. If roster has anything wrong with it then the team AND coach are banned from that particular tournament. If it happens again, it is reported to the NCAA and that coach's certification is taken away for 12 months. I know it potentially takes away opportunity from kids but the coaches have to get this right. It also takes away from the potential "free agent market" that we see at the MN AAU State Tournament every year (I know it happens elsewhere as well).
To go along with get the rosters correct, give the kids an opportunity to only play on two different teams throughout the spring and summer. I understand that there are times when there is an off weekend and you have the opportunity to play with some high school teammates but there shouldn't be any jumping from team to team EVERY weekend.
AAU directors need to make a stand. If one of their coaches gets ejected from a game, they are done for that particular tournament. If it happens again, they will not be coaching in that program for the rest of the year. How many high school coaches get ejected from games? Not very many because they understand how much it hurts their team. It happens a lot more in AAU and can potentially cost the kids a chance to play more games because the coach has made it all about themselves. I don't think AAU directors want to be coaching 30 games a weekend.
Stop charging high school coaches to get into tournaments. They are there watching their kids play. They are making an investment into their program. The least a tournament could do is let them in for free.
Do not charge college coaches for "recruiting packets." The college coaches are the reason why the kids are playing in the first place (for 95% of the kids). Get as many as you can into the door and give the kids as many opportunities as you can for them to be seen. It's not that big of an expense for a tournament director to print off a bunch. Make it simple, each college program gets one packet per tournament.
To go along with recruiting packets, give college coaches their own section to sit in EVERY tournament. Coaches shouldn't be having conversations with kids and their families during tournament play. I witnessed two different D3 coaches talking to kids directly in front of me this weekend while the kids were still in the tournament. That's a clear violation and shouldn't happen. They can talk AFTER the kid's tournament is over.
The NCAA needs to make a limit on how many events are certified during the open period. There are just too many events and it ends up costing many kids an opportunity to be seen by college coaches. Limit the number to 75 (or less) tournaments throughout the country. Then have an NCAA representative at each. That rep will then have an all access pass to the tournament to roam free and see what college coaches are doing to gain an advantage.
In the past the NCAA has brought a few of their reps to tournaments that I have been at. The two (both female) that came to a tournament in Vegas a few years ago essentially flirted with the college coaches the whole time and didn't do anything that I saw. Now, they could be doing something behind the scenes to scope out some issues but it clearly wasn't enough.
The NCAA would say that it costs too much for their organization to have that many reps as well as fly them all over the country to evaluate what is going on at each tournament. We all know that is not true with the money they make from the Final Four. They don't have to be full time employees, they just have to be able to work during the April and July recruiting periods. College coaches shouldn't know who the people are and won't be able to manipulate them in any way.
Like with so many things there are few people that are screwing it up for everyone else. 90-95% of the people are doing things the right way but we tend to focus on the people that aren't.
I'm sure there is more things to put out there but I believe this is a start.
Don't let kids play AAU until after they have completed middle school. I understand there is a market for it and some coaches do a great job with kids BUT they should be playing another sport during the spring and potentially the summer. If you have want to have a team consisting of kids that just completed middle school and they are playing in a few tournaments for the summer, that works. It becomes overload for the kids and a lot of times it becomes too much for the family to be traveling all over the place to play games. The kids' bodies are still developing and for them to play as many games as NBA players do from the winter to the summer, can't be good for their bodies.
How many AAU programs actually charge the bare minimum for a kid to participate? I know there are quite a few expenses to play including gym time, uniforms, and tournament entry fees but that doesn't add up to $1000. By charging more, the programs are making money thus not making it about the kids. By doing this, the system becomes a business model not a service model. When adults have a business model, they tend to screw it up for the kids.
Create a model of consistency with each tournament. Kids should be playing with their age group or above it. There shouldn't be kids who have already graduated high school playing during the spring and summer. They've had their time to shine, now let others take advantage of that opportunity. If they created more 18U and 19U tournaments, I'd be fine with it. Just don't allow a 2015 kid play against a bunch of 2016/2017's all spring and summer.
Rosters must be sent in a three weeks in advance. If roster has anything wrong with it then the team AND coach are banned from that particular tournament. If it happens again, it is reported to the NCAA and that coach's certification is taken away for 12 months. I know it potentially takes away opportunity from kids but the coaches have to get this right. It also takes away from the potential "free agent market" that we see at the MN AAU State Tournament every year (I know it happens elsewhere as well).
To go along with get the rosters correct, give the kids an opportunity to only play on two different teams throughout the spring and summer. I understand that there are times when there is an off weekend and you have the opportunity to play with some high school teammates but there shouldn't be any jumping from team to team EVERY weekend.
AAU directors need to make a stand. If one of their coaches gets ejected from a game, they are done for that particular tournament. If it happens again, they will not be coaching in that program for the rest of the year. How many high school coaches get ejected from games? Not very many because they understand how much it hurts their team. It happens a lot more in AAU and can potentially cost the kids a chance to play more games because the coach has made it all about themselves. I don't think AAU directors want to be coaching 30 games a weekend.
Stop charging high school coaches to get into tournaments. They are there watching their kids play. They are making an investment into their program. The least a tournament could do is let them in for free.
Do not charge college coaches for "recruiting packets." The college coaches are the reason why the kids are playing in the first place (for 95% of the kids). Get as many as you can into the door and give the kids as many opportunities as you can for them to be seen. It's not that big of an expense for a tournament director to print off a bunch. Make it simple, each college program gets one packet per tournament.
To go along with recruiting packets, give college coaches their own section to sit in EVERY tournament. Coaches shouldn't be having conversations with kids and their families during tournament play. I witnessed two different D3 coaches talking to kids directly in front of me this weekend while the kids were still in the tournament. That's a clear violation and shouldn't happen. They can talk AFTER the kid's tournament is over.
The NCAA needs to make a limit on how many events are certified during the open period. There are just too many events and it ends up costing many kids an opportunity to be seen by college coaches. Limit the number to 75 (or less) tournaments throughout the country. Then have an NCAA representative at each. That rep will then have an all access pass to the tournament to roam free and see what college coaches are doing to gain an advantage.
In the past the NCAA has brought a few of their reps to tournaments that I have been at. The two (both female) that came to a tournament in Vegas a few years ago essentially flirted with the college coaches the whole time and didn't do anything that I saw. Now, they could be doing something behind the scenes to scope out some issues but it clearly wasn't enough.
The NCAA would say that it costs too much for their organization to have that many reps as well as fly them all over the country to evaluate what is going on at each tournament. We all know that is not true with the money they make from the Final Four. They don't have to be full time employees, they just have to be able to work during the April and July recruiting periods. College coaches shouldn't know who the people are and won't be able to manipulate them in any way.
Like with so many things there are few people that are screwing it up for everyone else. 90-95% of the people are doing things the right way but we tend to focus on the people that aren't.
I'm sure there is more things to put out there but I believe this is a start.
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