A report in the Wall Street Journal recently shed some light on the decline in participation in youth baseball. (http://on.wsj.com/eZ7ZYQ) The article states that, from 2000-2009, the number of young people ages 7-17 playing baseball fell 24%. While many experts search for where these kids went, I think I found them last weekend... they are playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball!
The AAU has become the general trademark brand of travel team basketball. In the same way that we call those little cotton swabs for our ears the Q-Tip (despite numerous companies that offer a version of the product), so too do basketball and media personalities refer to club team basketball as AAU. There are many outlets that offer travel basketball options, AAU just happens to be the most widely known.
As I'm officiating a local "AAU" tournament last weekend, I found myself watching some particularly bad basketball. Formerly an outlet for elite players to hone their skills and compete, travel team basketball has taken on a new identity. That's when it hit me - these players used to spend their Spring playing baseball.
I think I saw this trend coming back when I was 9 years old playing Little League, back when I was picking dandelions in right field waiting for a ball that never came. I completely respect the sport, mainly because I respect anyone that can hit a ball. (I, on the other hand, struck out constantly - yes, in tee ball). Baseball has lost it's appeal to young people, and with new media promoting sports like basketball, soccer and even lacrosse, baseball looks like it's rapidly becoming the odd sport out.
Travel team basketball tournaments are popping up everywhere. In New England, the concept is so popular that it has become profitable. At a tournament that charges $400 a team and registers 30 teams, tournament organizers can garner over $7000 after paying for officials and facility rental fees. This doesn't factor in admission and concession profits which certainly boost a 30-team tournament to well over $10,000 in revenue for a weekend.
Paying these team fees, admission and concession prices are the parents and guardians of the new breed of AAU players. While it is a hit on the wallet, most don't really complain. Unlike in youth baseball, even if your child plays sparingly each game he or she is getting some decent exercise.
Now don't get me wrong, I am all for everyone playing basketball. I coach it and I love it. In fact, I played it myself when I was probably more inclined (and athletically more suited) to excel at a sport like track or soccer. However, I did it for free, with my friends, on the playground. As a coach I can't help but cringe when I see this new generation of young people and their families paying a good deal of money to play travel team basketball, especially when the kids are seemingly not properly taught the game.
So there I was officiating games with kids who, for the most part, don't yet know what a travel is. As if that's not telling enough then getting questioned by coaches who obviously aren't teaching the game, and yelled at by parents who are ignorant to the rules of the game, all lend effectiveness to my point.
I do love when I see a kid pick-up the game for the first time, but perhaps this new wave of travel basketball parents should take the following advice: Let your children experience multiple sports. Not everyone is made to play basketball year-round. Save your time and theirs (as well as your money) and allow your son or daughter to play the game for fun before try to advance their level of play. Otherwise, most of you are simply putting money into the pockets of tournament and club organizers. Save your money, your child could excel in a diiferent sport and ultimately be better off for it.
Preach!!
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