Basketball Tryouts

[Anonymous]

My son (10th grade) recently tried out for his school JV basketball team and made it up until final cuts but ended up not making the team. He practices basketball daily and used to play competitively (low level AAU) but got injured 8th grade and then covid hit so hasn't played on a team since 7th grade. He is 6'1" and athletic (plays soccer as well) and is a "shooter" according to himself. My question is if he puts in the work will coaches still possibly take him on varsity next year even though he didn't have experience on JV? I talked to a few people with kids who played varsity and they said coaches very rarely add new people to varsity. How true is this as well? Any advice is helpful and I will be showing him this thread.

Thanks in advance

[Anonymous]

He should reach out to the coach who cut him and ask what he could improve on or work on for next year.

[Anonymous]

Ugh— basketball is brutal with only 10 spots on a team and so many kids who play. I would recommend playing on a rec team— remember, lots of kids play rec at that age because high school is so hard to make! At our high school, Junior JV is sort of a last stop— even some seniors who have played varsity before get cut due to incoming talent.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school and the program. As a former DC area high school player and coach, I am familiar with kids who didn't make JV but subsequently made varsity. Growing a few inches always helps as does getting stronger and quicker. Working on one's game helps too. But he needs to be realistic. In most cases I would say if you're cut from JV it would be very difficult to make the varsity. Good luck to him.

[Anonymous]

At our school, no. Varsity draws from the occasional great freshman and from JV. Once a kid makes varsity, they will never be cut. That leaves a large number of JV kids getting cut as they age out and no one else getting a any chance.

[Anonymous]

Baloney. Parents hope you don’t have your child keep
working. Talk to the coach and then get back on AAU and attend clinics and tell him to try again. Michael Jordan didn’t make basketball right away in hs and he is the GOAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the school and the program. As a former DC area high school player and coach, I am familiar with kids who didn't make JV but subsequently made varsity. Growing a few inches always helps as does getting stronger and quicker. Working on one's game helps too. But he needs to be realistic. In most cases I would say if you're cut from JV it would be very difficult to make the varsity. Good luck to him.

It really depends on the school, but I agree with PP that it would be tough. Maybe if he didn't make JV as a freshman, but not making it as a sophomore doesn't suggest that he'd make varsity unless he grows a lot. Again, depending on the school, AAU play years ago probably doesn't mean a lot since there is such an enormous range of AAU teams.

I know of three kids who chose not to play at some point in high school and then later played varsity. Two were freak athletes who played other contact team sports at a very high level. The other was a kid who refused to play JV (he wanted varsity), spent a year working his butt off and then did very well at varsity tryouts the next year. I don't know of anyone who didn't make JV and then made varsity.

It's important to know that there are two aspects to this -- having the skills, size, toughness, and basketball IQ to play at the required level AND, maybe more importantly, having coaches PERCEIVE your kid as being ready for that level. Basketball coaches, much more than sports with more objective measures like times, get an idea of a player's capabilities and it's usually really hard to change the perception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baloney. Parents hope you don’t have your child keep
working. Talk to the coach and then get back on AAU and attend clinics and tell him to try again. Michael Jordan didn’t make basketball right away in hs and he is the GOAT.

Not quite. He didn't make varsity as a sophomore, specifically because his (young, inexperienced) coach was looking for height.

[Anonymous]

The reality is, he is not going to make the varsity team at most schools. Have him play rec or train and try out again for an AAU team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baloney. Parents hope you don’t have your child keep
working. Talk to the coach and then get back on AAU and attend clinics and tell him to try again. Michael Jordan didn’t make basketball right away in hs and he is the GOAT.

Not quite. He didn't make varsity as a sophomore, specifically because his (young, inexperienced) coach was looking for height.

Was going to say this. He was only 5’10 at the time and still made the JV team that year. Not the best example. OP, he needs to play high level AAU to have a shot and the sad reality is, he’s not going to make a high level AAU team as they’ve already been established since kids were 12. They make room for elite level players that are leaving their current high level AAU team or for a kid that is 6’6 that can be coached to high level. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but chances are pretty low. It will also come down to the level of talent the varsity team will have that year. Don’t give up bball all together. Have him play Rec and low level AAU still for sure. Just temper expectations.