Middle school/HS Basketball

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who played a lot of sports who started playing basketball in 6th grade and loves it. In the past, he played baseball, soccer, swim and tennis. He was good at all of them competing well all through elementary.

He tried out for travel and AAU basketball and did not make the team. He has only played basketball for one year and obviously lacks the experience other kids have. I am well aware that basketball is one of the most competitive sports and many of these kids have been playing basketball since a young age and have also been on these more competitive teams since elementary.

Does my kid have any shot or is he too late?

He also is not tall. He is above average but not what anyone would consider tall on a basketball team. I’m guessing he will end up around 6’ in high school.

Our expectations are pretty low. We just want him to make the high school basketball team. We live in an UMC neighborhood. I don’t think many/any kids are basketball recruits. This is just a regular high school not known for basketball.

[Anonymous]

What high school will he go to?

[Anonymous]

How tall are you and your husband?

So he has played one year of rec basketball?

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who played a lot of sports who started playing basketball in 6th grade and loves it. In the past, he played baseball, soccer, swim and tennis. He was good at all of them competing well all through elementary.

He tried out for travel and AAU basketball and did not make the team. He has only played basketball for one year and obviously lacks the experience other kids have. I am well aware that basketball is one of the most competitive sports and many of these kids have been playing basketball since a young age and have also been on these more competitive teams since elementary.

Does my kid have any shot or is he too late?

He also is not tall. He is above average but not what anyone would consider tall on a basketball team. I’m guessing he will end up around 6’ in high school.

Our expectations are pretty low. We just want him to make the high school basketball team. We live in an UMC neighborhood. I don’t think many/any kids are basketball recruits. This is just a regular high school not known for basketball.

OP, my son about where your son is when he was in 7th grade. My son started doing weekly individual coaching and tried out for a low level AAU team (MADE), which he made. The weekly individual workouts made a big difference, as did some small group training focused on 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 play. My kid was zoned for a basketball powerhouse high school (usually in the ESPN top 25), and he REALLY wanted to play in HS, so he trained obsessively — like at least an hour every day that he didn’t have practice all year long, and usually they’d have to kick him out of the gym after practice. He did camps and skills classes during MS in addition to year round AAU and school ball.

By HS, he made his school’s freshman team, then varsity by the end of the season. So it’s doable, but it takes work. Definitely easier if your school has a freshman team.

One thing — people obsess about height, but athleticism also matters. DS was 6’1” as a freshman but one of only a couple of freshmen who could dunk. Another was 5’11 and very athletic. So if your kid has a great vertical, that helps a lot.

Also, be aware that most high schools play summer league. If your kid wants to play in the winter, he should attend open gyms spring of 8th grade year and try to make summer league. By tryouts in October, DS and several other kids had already played summer and fall league their freshman year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

Its MUCH easier to make a JV baseball team than a JV basketball team at a large public HS. I have no idea about private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who played a lot of sports who started playing basketball in 6th grade and loves it. In the past, he played baseball, soccer, swim and tennis. He was good at all of them competing well all through elementary.

He tried out for travel and AAU basketball and did not make the team. He has only played basketball for one year and obviously lacks the experience other kids have. I am well aware that basketball is one of the most competitive sports and many of these kids have been playing basketball since a young age and have also been on these more competitive teams since elementary.

Does my kid have any shot or is he too late?

He also is not tall. He is above average but not what anyone would consider tall on a basketball team. I’m guessing he will end up around 6’ in high school.

Our expectations are pretty low. We just want him to make the high school basketball team. We live in an UMC neighborhood. I don’t think many/any kids are basketball recruits. This is just a regular high school not known for basketball.

OP, my son about where your son is when he was in 7th grade. My son started doing weekly individual coaching and tried out for a low level AAU team (MADE), which he made. The weekly individual workouts made a big difference, as did some small group training focused on 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 play. My kid was zoned for a basketball powerhouse high school (usually in the ESPN top 25), and he REALLY wanted to play in HS, so he trained obsessively — like at least an hour every day that he didn’t have practice all year long, and usually they’d have to kick him out of the gym after practice. He did camps and skills classes during MS in addition to year round AAU and school ball.

By HS, he made his school’s freshman team, then varsity by the end of the season. So it’s doable, but it takes work. Definitely easier if your school has a freshman team.

One thing — people obsess about height, but athleticism also matters. DS was 6’1” as a freshman but one of only a couple of freshmen who could dunk. Another was 5’11 and very athletic. So if your kid has a great vertical, that helps a lot.

Also, be aware that most high schools play summer league. If your kid wants to play in the winter, he should attend open gyms spring of 8th grade year and try to make summer league. By tryouts in October, DS and several other kids had already played summer and fall league their freshman year.

6'1 is really tall though for a 9th grader. (Not "basketball tall", but still, really tall.) It is silly to tell people not to worry about heigh b/c your kid is "only" 6'1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

Its MUCH easier to make a JV baseball team than a JV basketball team at a large public HS. I have no idea about private schools.

You missed my larger point: it depends on the HS.

I wasn't comparing the sports. I was saying that Kid A might be better than Kid B, but Kid B goes to a HS with a losing program and is able to make their team, while Kid A got cut.

It's not just comparing 2 kids. The quality of the program of the HS is just as much a factor as is the ability of the athlete

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

Its MUCH easier to make a JV baseball team than a JV basketball team at a large public HS. I have no idea about private schools.

You missed my larger point: it depends on the HS.

I wasn't comparing the sports. I was saying that Kid A might be better than Kid B, but Kid B goes to a HS with a losing program and is able to make their team, while Kid A got cut.

It's not just comparing 2 kids. The quality of the program of the HS is just as much a factor as is the ability of the athlete

I'll add, that even though on average, I agree with you. Its MUCH harder to make the baseball team at DS's large high school. The level of talent is through the roof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

Its MUCH easier to make a JV baseball team than a JV basketball team at a large public HS. I have no idea about private schools.

You missed my larger point: it depends on the HS.

I wasn't comparing the sports. I was saying that Kid A might be better than Kid B, but Kid B goes to a HS with a losing program and is able to make their team, while Kid A got cut.

It's not just comparing 2 kids. The quality of the program of the HS is just as much a factor as is the ability of the athlete

I'll add, that even though on average, I agree with you. Its MUCH harder to make the baseball team at DS's large high school. The level of talent is through the roof.

At which large public HS is it harder to make the JV baseball team than the JV basketball team? I honestly can't think of how that could possibly be the case. More kids play basketball everywhere and basketball rosters are much smaller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

Its MUCH easier to make a JV baseball team than a JV basketball team at a large public HS. I have no idea about private schools.

You missed my larger point: it depends on the HS.

I wasn't comparing the sports. I was saying that Kid A might be better than Kid B, but Kid B goes to a HS with a losing program and is able to make their team, while Kid A got cut.

It's not just comparing 2 kids. The quality of the program of the HS is just as much a factor as is the ability of the athlete

I'll add, that even though on average, I agree with you. Its MUCH harder to make the baseball team at DS's large high school. The level of talent is through the roof.

At which large public HS is it harder to make the JV baseball team than the JV basketball team? I honestly can't think of how that could possibly be the case. More kids play basketball everywhere and basketball rosters are much smaller.

Not the pp. we live in McLean and I have heard baseball is very hard to make. Many kids played baseball their entire lives on travel and there are very few open spots on the JV team for freshmen. Basketball is also hard but I don’t think as many kids play competitive basketball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who played a lot of sports who started playing basketball in 6th grade and loves it. In the past, he played baseball, soccer, swim and tennis. He was good at all of them competing well all through elementary.

He tried out for travel and AAU basketball and did not make the team. He has only played basketball for one year and obviously lacks the experience other kids have. I am well aware that basketball is one of the most competitive sports and many of these kids have been playing basketball since a young age and have also been on these more competitive teams since elementary.

Does my kid have any shot or is he too late?

He also is not tall. He is above average but not what anyone would consider tall on a basketball team. I’m guessing he will end up around 6’ in high school.

Our expectations are pretty low. We just want him to make the high school basketball team. We live in an UMC neighborhood. I don’t think many/any kids are basketball recruits. This is just a regular high school not known for basketball.

OP, my son about where your son is when he was in 7th grade. My son started doing weekly individual coaching and tried out for a low level AAU team (MADE), which he made. The weekly individual workouts made a big difference, as did some small group training focused on 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 play. My kid was zoned for a basketball powerhouse high school (usually in the ESPN top 25), and he REALLY wanted to play in HS, so he trained obsessively — like at least an hour every day that he didn’t have practice all year long, and usually they’d have to kick him out of the gym after practice. He did camps and skills classes during MS in addition to year round AAU and school ball.

By HS, he made his school’s freshman team, then varsity by the end of the season. So it’s doable, but it takes work. Definitely easier if your school has a freshman team.

One thing — people obsess about height, but athleticism also matters. DS was 6’1” as a freshman but one of only a couple of freshmen who could dunk. Another was 5’11 and very athletic. So if your kid has a great vertical, that helps a lot.

Also, be aware that most high schools play summer league. If your kid wants to play in the winter, he should attend open gyms spring of 8th grade year and try to make summer league. By tryouts in October, DS and several other kids had already played summer and fall league their freshman year.

6'1 is really tall though for a 9th grader. (Not "basketball tall", but still, really tall.) It is silly to tell people not to worry about heigh b/c your kid is "only" 6'1.

You missed the point. People who don’t know the game assume that any tall kid can play. My kid jumped over lots of big, slow 6’2” and 6’3” kids. A 6’8” kid didn’t make JV because he wasn’t athletic and didn’t have skills.

It’s not about height. It’s about skill and athleticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who played a lot of sports who started playing basketball in 6th grade and loves it. In the past, he played baseball, soccer, swim and tennis. He was good at all of them competing well all through elementary.

He tried out for travel and AAU basketball and did not make the team. He has only played basketball for one year and obviously lacks the experience other kids have. I am well aware that basketball is one of the most competitive sports and many of these kids have been playing basketball since a young age and have also been on these more competitive teams since elementary.

Does my kid have any shot or is he too late?

He also is not tall. He is above average but not what anyone would consider tall on a basketball team. I’m guessing he will end up around 6’ in high school.

Our expectations are pretty low. We just want him to make the high school basketball team. We live in an UMC neighborhood. I don’t think many/any kids are basketball recruits. This is just a regular high school not known for basketball.

OP, my son about where your son is when he was in 7th grade. My son started doing weekly individual coaching and tried out for a low level AAU team (MADE), which he made. The weekly individual workouts made a big difference, as did some small group training focused on 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 play. My kid was zoned for a basketball powerhouse high school (usually in the ESPN top 25), and he REALLY wanted to play in HS, so he trained obsessively — like at least an hour every day that he didn’t have practice all year long, and usually they’d have to kick him out of the gym after practice. He did camps and skills classes during MS in addition to year round AAU and school ball.

By HS, he made his school’s freshman team, then varsity by the end of the season. So it’s doable, but it takes work. Definitely easier if your school has a freshman team.

One thing — people obsess about height, but athleticism also matters. DS was 6’1” as a freshman but one of only a couple of freshmen who could dunk. Another was 5’11 and very athletic. So if your kid has a great vertical, that helps a lot.

Also, be aware that most high schools play summer league. If your kid wants to play in the winter, he should attend open gyms spring of 8th grade year and try to make summer league. By tryouts in October, DS and several other kids had already played summer and fall league their freshman year.

6'1 is really tall though for a 9th grader. (Not "basketball tall", but still, really tall.) It is silly to tell people not to worry about heigh b/c your kid is "only" 6'1.

You missed the point. People who don’t know the game assume that any tall kid can play. My kid jumped over lots of big, slow 6’2” and 6’3” kids. A 6’8” kid didn’t make JV because he wasn’t athletic and didn’t have skills.

It’s not about height. It’s about skill and athleticism.

I would consider your kid tall. Yes, that is not basketball tall but still tall compared to our average height kids.

We recently went to a tryout where it felt like the coach picked all the tall kids including a very slow kid and put them on one court and left all the average and short kids on the other side of the court. Your kid would have been on the tall side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the HS.

This is baseball, but my DD attends a HS that routinely goes to the state championships; it's just expected.

He's a freshman, and he's a star on his club team, but he decided to not even tryout his freshman year.

Meanwhile, some of his club teammates made their JV teams despite often not making the starting lineup on the club team. I think their JV team for their HS was no-cut.

So its not just how good your DS is; its what's the level of competition at your specific school

Its MUCH easier to make a JV baseball team than a JV basketball team at a large public HS. I have no idea about private schools.

You missed my larger point: it depends on the HS.

I wasn't comparing the sports. I was saying that Kid A might be better than Kid B, but Kid B goes to a HS with a losing program and is able to make their team, while Kid A got cut.

It's not just comparing 2 kids. The quality of the program of the HS is just as much a factor as is the ability of the athlete

I'll add, that even though on average, I agree with you. Its MUCH harder to make the baseball team at DS's large high school. The level of talent is through the roof.

At which large public HS is it harder to make the JV baseball team than the JV basketball team? I honestly can't think of how that could possibly be the case. More kids play basketball everywhere and basketball rosters are much smaller.

Come out to some of the rural / semi-rural areas. The high schools still have over 2,000 kids, but baseball (and football) is king. I know of a few (maybe 3, but I'm sure there are more) travel basketball teams out where we live, but can think of 10-12 very good travel baseball teams.

And this is still all within 90 minutes of DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who played a lot of sports who started playing basketball in 6th grade and loves it. In the past, he played baseball, soccer, swim and tennis. He was good at all of them competing well all through elementary.

He tried out for travel and AAU basketball and did not make the team. He has only played basketball for one year and obviously lacks the experience other kids have. I am well aware that basketball is one of the most competitive sports and many of these kids have been playing basketball since a young age and have also been on these more competitive teams since elementary.

Does my kid have any shot or is he too late?

He also is not tall. He is above average but not what anyone would consider tall on a basketball team. I’m guessing he will end up around 6’ in high school.

Our expectations are pretty low. We just want him to make the high school basketball team. We live in an UMC neighborhood. I don’t think many/any kids are basketball recruits. This is just a regular high school not known for basketball.

OP, my son about where your son is when he was in 7th grade. My son started doing weekly individual coaching and tried out for a low level AAU team (MADE), which he made. The weekly individual workouts made a big difference, as did some small group training focused on 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 play. My kid was zoned for a basketball powerhouse high school (usually in the ESPN top 25), and he REALLY wanted to play in HS, so he trained obsessively — like at least an hour every day that he didn’t have practice all year long, and usually they’d have to kick him out of the gym after practice. He did camps and skills classes during MS in addition to year round AAU and school ball.

By HS, he made his school’s freshman team, then varsity by the end of the season. So it’s doable, but it takes work. Definitely easier if your school has a freshman team.

One thing — people obsess about height, but athleticism also matters. DS was 6’1” as a freshman but one of only a couple of freshmen who could dunk. Another was 5’11 and very athletic. So if your kid has a great vertical, that helps a lot.

Also, be aware that most high schools play summer league. If your kid wants to play in the winter, he should attend open gyms spring of 8th grade year and try to make summer league. By tryouts in October, DS and several other kids had already played summer and fall league their freshman year.

6'1 is really tall though for a 9th grader. (Not "basketball tall", but still, really tall.) It is silly to tell people not to worry about heigh b/c your kid is "only" 6'1.

You missed the point. People who don’t know the game assume that any tall kid can play. My kid jumped over lots of big, slow 6’2” and 6’3” kids. A 6’8” kid didn’t make JV because he wasn’t athletic and didn’t have skills.

It’s not about height. It’s about skill and athleticism.

I would consider your kid tall. Yes, that is not basketball tall but still tall compared to our average height kids.

We recently went to a tryout where it felt like the coach picked all the tall kids including a very slow kid and put them on one court and left all the average and short kids on the other side of the court. Your kid would have been on the tall side.

I’m curious if this was for high school aged kids? Athleticism starts to matter when kids are playing above the rim, which is more in high school. Much before that, vertical jump seems to matter less.