Changing times, changing processes
Things change with time. New technology is old within five years, cars change hands every four and people change their minds almost daily.
The same is true for AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball.
It was January 21, 1888 and William Buckingham Curtis, AAU’s founder, wanted an organization to train young athletes for the Olympics. He founded AAU solely for that purpose and he and the organization was very successful until 1978.
According to active.com, Congress passed the Amateur Sports Act in that year and it changed the way AAU operated.
Turns out, the change was for the better for AAU. Instead of preparing young athletes for the Olympics, AAU morphed into an organization for young athletes around the country to compete against one another in tournaments. Since then, AAU has become the go-to provider of college basketball athletes for recruiters and it is only growing.
But that change has hurt many high school basketball teams ability to have a say in their player’s recruitment.
“It is more and more about the AAU teams and the AAU season for college coaches because they are so busy in the winter time,” said Steven Phillips, North Wilkes head girls basketball coach. “It is not uncommon for a player to be recruited and the high school coach to never once be contacted. (College recruiters) simply go through the AAU coach and recruit through the AAU team and the high school coach is left out entirely. As a high school coach, I want to be involved in my players recruiting.”
VICTORIA YOUNG hits a runner in the lane against Ashe County’s Amber Miller and Olivia Patton in the fourth quarter of North Wilkes’ MVAC tournament win on Wednesday night. Photo Credit: Zach Colburn.
Before AAU took off, a high school coach would be the first contact for a college recruiter when an athletes name started to circulate. But that was always difficult for many college coaches and recruiters because the high school and college season intertwine. It was hard for a coach to personally watch an athlete play during the season.
But then stepped in AAU basketball.
Many of the AAU tournaments run in July, which is convenient for a college coach because school is not in session and legally he cannot practice with his team. Naturally a college coach would scout during this month of AAU, and players became aware of that.
AAU teams construct rosters full of college-level players and compete against similar teams in weekend tournaments. The AAU coach will be in contact during the tournaments with college coaches looking at some of his players. The only problem with that is the knowledge the AAU coach has about the players off the court.
“It is a rare thing anymore for a big school to call and ask about a kid because they would rather ask the AAU coach,” said Watauga High School Head Basketball Coach Rob Sanders. That is disappointing because those guys don’t have near the time with the players as their high school coaches do.”
Colleges still recruit just as much or more than they always have, the only difference is how they go about it. But while it makes it easier on college recruiters, it can be a burden on the high school athletes families.
“My own daughter had an opportunity to play on an AAU team in Winston Salem over the summer,” said Phillips. “But because of the time it takes to travel, the extra expense to play and for gas and along with her playing softball during that time, she turned it down.”
It used to be that an athlete could play during the winters and train during the summers, but now because college coaches do the bulk of their recruiting in July, it is essential for the player to play AAU instead of taking time off to train.
This can be a mental and physical toll for a high school athlete, but in order to be noticed it is now a must to be recruited.
Not all things that AAU does affects high school coaches and players. AAU does provide a safe and friendly environment for high school athletes to play in, but for the issue of recruitment, there seems to be no end in sight.
“The first thing that AAU needs to do is fix its governing body,” said Sanders. “It needs to have more control of the teams and coaches instead of releasing a bunch of rules and not enforcing them. Unless the NCCA tries to change the way AAU handles (recruiting), then AAU will never change now, because there is no going back at this point.”
Jeremy Ringler dives in for a layup on January 3rd against Freedom. Photo: David Rogers
While these problems may never change and they really will not affect an athletes chances at playing in college, being on the go all the time may be the underlying lesson here.
“Families are so important to who we are as a nation,” said Sanders. “Schedules fill up fast and people get busy. Sometimes relaxation and family time can be overlooked. I understand that kids want to play in college, and I’m not saying for them not to chance their dreams, but it would be nice for the reigns to come back to the high school coaches so families can have more down time.”
