How to start a summer basketball league

USA Basketball - 6 Answers on Starting a Summer Basketball Team

If anyone is an expert on starting a successful summer basketball team, it's Jim Hart.

Hart has been a coach and president of the City Rocks summer basketball program, based in Albany, N.Y. What was once a small club team with five boys teams has grown into one of the elite summer programs in the United States. City Rocks is now sponsored by Nike and consists of 14 boys teams between the ages of 10-18 as well as two girls teams.

How did City Rocks get to this level? Hart moved to Albany from New York City and was looking to get involved in coaching back in 1993. After his first year coaching a 15-U club team, he assumed leadership of the club and slowly built it as the demand and talent level increased. City Rocks started seeing moderate success, then a little more, then even more before Nike signed them to a sponsorship contract around 2000. It's been one of the premier summer basketball teams in the country ever since.

"The program has continued to grow," Hart said. "Ours was an area that prior to us doing this, there would be one Division-I player in upstate New York every 3-4 years. Now we're getting five every year."

Hart is married with three children, and has a day job as a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley Financial. But he has seen City Rocks grow into one of the top clubs in the United States over the last 17 years. He offered some advice to those who might see a market to start a summer basketball team in their hometown, as well as some insight as to how he runs his club.

What advice would you give to those who might be interested in starting a summer team in their area?
The AAU club registrations are $25. That's all it costs to register your club with AAU. Insurance is cheap, it's $12 per player, $18 a coach through AAU. It's very easy to start your own team. There's websites where you can look up your state and look up your age group and find tournaments. There are a few other websites that you can find tournaments to go to.

It's easier than ever with catalogs where you can buy some reversible mesh uniforms for cheap, get every player insured and register a club name. You can just start your own season. It's so much easier than people think. Even if you're a dad out there and your kid doesn't have a team to be on, you can start your own team. You can play with your high school guys.

What should coaches keep in mind when looking to start a team?
Some coaches just want to see their kids get better. I didn't start this with the intention to make it some national program. I started it because I like coaching and I like coaching local kids. Then we started going around and I started seeing these kids getting Division I scholarships, and our kids thought they were as good as or better than them. Upon further look, they were just getting more exposure.

Our program grew on the fact that we were getting kids a little more exposure. But now with websites and things, people are going to find you. You've got to be about teaching kids and giving them a safe environment and getting them better.

How does City Rocks treat younger players as opposed to the older, high school-aged players?
We usually encourage our younger guys who are 12 and under not to play just basketball. I told our 10-12 year old kids, if you have a little league baseball game to go to, go to that.

But once you hit 13, it's a year-round sport, just like if it's hockey or soccer. If you want to be good, you've got to play year-round.

How often are your 10-year-old teams around your 17-year-old teams, trying to learn from your older players?
We've got an interesting night that we do. Our first game is the Boo Williams Tournament. Our three oldest teams get on a charter bus and we leave at midnight and drive through the night. Before we leave on the bus we have a night where our 10-year-old teams all the way up to the 17s show up. All the teams are there, we take team pictures, have a 3-point shooting contest, things like that.

During the year, we'll do clinics where the older kids will mentor the younger kids. I think the little kids love looking up to the older kids. It gives them something to be a part of.

What do you feel your responsibility is to the players in your program?
We try and teach our kids individual responsibility. Be responsible for your actions. We talk to them about NCAA Clearinghouse, what they're going to need to move on. We have former players coming back to speak to them.

Our responsibility to the younger kids is to help them develop and get better. To let them have a fun experience at the sport and to enjoy the game. If at the end of the season, they haven't enjoyed it, you've already failed the kids. We really do try and make it fun.

At the older levels, it's giving them as much structure as you possibly can. We practice 2-3 times a week, a little more than most. Give them enough structure and get them out there where they have a chance to showcase their skills against the best. My motto in life is that all you can really ask for in life is an opportunity that's equal to your ability. We think we can provide kids with opportunities equal to their abilities.

On a personal level, how do you find time for running a summer basketball club between your career and your family?
They always say if you want to get something done, give it to a busy man. I perform my best when I'm busy.

USA Basketball - 5 Tips for Choosing a Summer Basketball Team

In today's landscape of high school and club basketball, players don't really get a break between seasons so much as change uniforms. As playoffs and state tournaments crown their champions the club teams are in the gym getting ready for the ever busier spring and summer schedule.

Whether you're staying with a club you've played with in the past or moving to a new program, get some assurances before investing your time and recruitment prospects with any group or individual.

With so much of the collegiate recruiting process based on nonscholastic teams and events, there's way too much on the line to settle for less than you deserve from a club coach or program director.

Look for a club that offers continued skill development. It's a critical time in the career of any high school recruit and simply playing games doesn't serve the top-ranked prospects or those just hoping to gain some attention. Sadder still are the number of squads that hold a minimal number of team practices if they hold any at all.

Demand that your coach gets you on the floor beyond just game time. Get a guarantee that they'll do their best to both make you a better player individually as well as prepare your team for the events you're going to compete in. It's not enough to play the game; you have to work at it, too.

Check the club's schedule of events closely. Before you commit to a team be sure you know definitively what events they're going to be playing in this spring and summer. Don't simply take their word that they're going to be at "all the top events." Ask them to provide the complete schedule up front. You need to let recruiters know where you'll be playing and your family needs to be able to make travel plans.

Also be sure what bracket or tier they may be playing in during each event. Playing in the third or fourth division at an event isn't going to get too many recruiters courtside. Additionally, if it's a talented, young group ask if they'll be "playing up." It's important to be challenged by older and better competition to show college coaches your true potential. Playing in a younger age group may help you constantly win by 20 and take home some trophies, but won't do much to advance your game.

Be careful about overscheduling. Obviously the spring evaluation period only allows for one event, but July has the potential to be a real problem. There are two separate 10-day evaluation segments with a five day break in between. Playing two events each segment doesn't overextend the athletes and allows for travel time.

In the past, teams who have tried to squeeze three events into one or both segments have ended up exhausted and it showed in their play. The extra events aren't worth the price you pay and in terms of fatigue, risk of injury and poor performance. Besides, if coaches can't find the time to see you play in the other four tournaments, you're probably not at the top of their list.

Check out your club's roster. Be sure you know up front what position you'll be playing and how many others on the team will occupy that same spot. If you're a high school post hoping to play the wing during the summer you don't want to be playing for a team lacking inside players. One injury or some bad performances and you'll be back on the block missing your opportunity to expand and grow your game.

Do your homework on the talent level of your potential teammates as well. There's nothing advantageous about being the go-to player if you don't have any help around you. Conversely, if you're in over your head, it will be hard to be evaluated and recruited while sitting on the bench.

The club coach's relationship with college coaches is not as important as you think. When club coaches make their "pitch" to athletes and parents, this is one of the most overplayed selling points. No doubt it's important, but not remotely to the degree some would have you believe. If recruiters see you play and they like what you do they'll be there whether they know your coach or not. An established relationship with the college crowd can sometimes get them in the gym to see you play, but it won't get you an offer.

If you're talented enough and playing well, they'll find you anyway. Recruiters are a resourceful and greedy bunch. With job security being extraordinarily fragile these days, college coaches have more riding on every recruit than ever before. The word of even the most reliable club coach by itself isn't enough to get a good evaluator past any concerns they may have with aspects of your game. It's up to you to do that on the floor.

Somewhere along the line club coaches and program directors became de facto recruiting coordinators and many aspects of club basketball got bumped down the priority list.

There are a limitless number of concerns that could be raised by different players and parents, each looking for different things from their club experience. The most important thing is to ask questions and get confirmation on what you'll be getting from a particular coach or team.

Even if it's a coach you've played with for years, he or she still needs to provide you with the answers to your questions. New team or old team, the failure to ask can lead to a long, "hot" summer.

“I don’t regret at all that I missed the children’s “club” basketball.” Start your career at the age of 20 and play in the Superleague - Basketball. 63rd region - Blogs

Samara forward Nikita Ivanov explains why he played only at the amateur level until he was 20, and recalls how he started his professional career. And at the same time invites everyone to play hockey with him.

Nikita Ivanov. Center/forward. Genus. October 31, 1991 Height 205 cm. Played for: the youth team of Krasnye Krylia (Samara, 2012-2013), CSK VVS-Krasnye Krylya (Samara, 2013/2014), the team of BC Khimki (2014-2016 ). Since the summer of 2016 - in the sports club "Samara". Participant of the World Summer Universiade 2011 as part of the student team of Russia. Winner of the Eurocup 2014/2015 with Khimki.

- You are playing for the Samara team for the second time. How has the city changed during this time?

- My first "arrival" in Samara was more youthful. Now I play in a team that faces serious challenges, and the championship, compared to recent years, has become stronger. During the two years that I spent in Khimki, Samara has noticeably changed: roads have started to be built for the 2018 World Cup, which is very nice. I myself am from Siberia, from Krasnoyarsk, and every spring I thought that we had the worst roads. But when I first came to Samara in 2012, I saw that there are regions that even lag behind Krasnoyarsk in this regard. But in general, Samara is a beautiful city, there is a beautiful embankment here, which is especially beautiful in summer. In my free time, the guys and I went there to play beach volleyball, swim - in Siberia, for this you need to get far out of the city, but here everything is nearby, so many cities can envy Samara.

- It was in Samara that you started your professional career...

- It so happened that I didn't go through the traditional "school" of basketball. Youth championships of Russia, CYBL - I missed all this. And I came to the professional team from student basketball: I played for the SibFU team in the ASB championship, and after my fourth year I decided to try my hand at professional sports. First, I went to see Nizhny Novgorod, took part with the team in the pre-season tournament, where the Krasnye Krylia coaches noticed me - so I moved to Tolyatti, where their youth team was then based. I was considered a promising guy, with good physical data - and I was “pulled up” to the main team. Moreover, there the players had injuries, so they took me to practice, to get a taste of professional basketball.

Basketball has always been interesting to me, I have always liked to practice and give myself to the cause. And with the university team we played at a high level: the All-Russian Universiade, the finals of the ASB ... And the guys in the team were experienced, who played at a professional level, in the same Yenisei. Children's basketball in Krasnoyarsk is under the auspices of Yenisei, but somehow it turns out that there is not a single pupil of my own in the main team ... And I decided that I would study and play, and I would take a step towards professional sports at the end of my studies in university.

In general, I started studying at an ordinary regional school. There was a good company, together we played basketball on the street, and ran crosses for the school, and participated in regional volleyball and hockey competitions - our sports development was versatile. Gradually, I fell in love with basketball more, especially since I was genetically tall, and began to pay more attention and time to it. And now I do not regret at all that I missed the children's "club" basketball. In adolescence, such loads, and suddenly an injury - and that’s it, you can no longer “get to” professionals.

Although for the first time I felt the "taste" of professional sports in 2011. Before the World Universiade, I, along with a group of players from the ASB and American universities, were taken to the training camp of the Russian student team. There were also players from professional clubs: Dmitry Golovin, Petr Gubanov, Vyacheslav Zaitsev, Anatoly Kashirov, and Evgeny Pashutin was the coach. As a result, I and another guy from Siberia, Alexander Kalenov (now playing in the Superleague for Temp-SUMZ-UMMC - ed.) passed the training camp and got into the team. Of course, we did not play a special role, but in training, in terms of energy and emotions, we gave all the best. Then I "live" saw the world of professional basketball - this predetermined my desire to try myself at this level after university.

- Are you interested or doing anything other than basketball now?

- Recently, the volleyball "Nova" moved to the "MTL Arena", and I, Dmitry Golovin and Evgeny Minchenko live very close by. Sometimes we go to their matches to support the guys. There are, of course, a lot of people there, there are various nuances, such as there is nowhere to even sit down. I also love to skate. We bought a hockey stick with Dima Golovin, we go to one of the city “boxes”, we skate, we work out some elements - this is quite interesting and at the same time difficult: unusual ligaments and joints work, there is a good load. If someone has a desire, come to the site on Lenin Avenue, we will see you not only at basketball. It happened that with the guys who work there, we set up the goal and play, we try to “depict” something at speed, similar to hockey. But everything is neat, after all, our main occupation is basketball.

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- What is the most difficult thing when you start your professional career at the age of 20?

- In terms of "physics" it was much easier. But in understanding game situations, in responsibility for the result, everything is completely different. For example, “for young men” you have a big credit of trust, you run and do whatever you want. And here everything is already stricter. Each player has his own strengths and weaknesses, in the attack you need to bring the ball to the “snipers”, look for profitable situations for partners, despite the fact that the time for making decisions is minimized: you need to do everything faster so that the defense does not have time to react and you scored easy points. This is the main difference.

Although I would not say that the level of college basketball is very weak. When I studied and played, we had about 70 matches during the season - the city championship, the ASB championship, the semi-professional First League, where we traveled, probably, half of Siberia ... We trained, maybe at a minimum, but game practice we have always been good: you are always in rhythm, always “run”. That was amazing. I think that such a system should be practiced. I think it can give an even better result than when you play 22 matches in a season, like we do in the Super League. It turns out that every game is responsible, you can’t relax a bit - it’s very emotionally fettering, and the level of “game” development also suffers from this. Although this is just my personal opinion.

- At the same time, Sergei Bazarevich almost immediately began to involve you in training with the Krasnye Krylia main team. What are your impressions of working with this coach?

– I can say to myself that at that time I was a bit unprepared for a new level. First of all, it is psychological. In terms of decision-making, some skills, I noticeably lagged behind my partners. Nevertheless, I was connected to training with the base. I am a physically strong guy, I always fought to the end, did not give up - and achieved my goal through perseverance. And Sergey Bazarevich is a very competent and good coach, he develops young players, for whom he has a credit of trust. He always has energetic workouts, his favorite phrase is: “The main thing is a good mood and give energy!”

- Then you found yourself in a similar situation in Khimki: you get playing practice in the second team in the Superleague, but you regularly train with the first team... including me. It's one structure, one club. And Khimki-Podmoskovye is a stepping stone between the youth team and the main one, so that their personnel are not lost, so that young guys do not go somewhere, but stay and gain experience in their club, having the opportunity to hang out with the “muzhiks”. And if you show yourself well, you will definitely be noticed and given a chance to try yourself at a higher level.