Summer and Fall ball?

[Anonymous]

I’m a new basketball parent so don’t know the annual cycle for all things basketball.

My kid played his first winter of FYBL and surprisingly continued on playing low level AAU that continues through June. He’ll stay active with weekly tech training, but does basketball take summers off? What should he be doing now? Does bball break until the late-fall/winter FYBL season starts back up again?

He’s a dual sport, athletic kid kind of late to the bball game, but he loves playing so I want to make sure we’re not missing anything.

[Anonymous]

Summers are usually off. Fall is also lower key but you can still find games (if you're on an AAU team) or skills clinics.

Use summer to do camps (you don't mention his age) and training. Use fall to ramp up the training for tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Rising 7th grade in NOVA… he’s signed up for 2 weeks of camp. It’ll be fun with his friends, but I’m honestly not sure how good it’ll be developmentally.

Hopefully, it’s not too late, but any recommendations on good summer bball camps?

[Anonymous]

The area high school camps are usually very good, inexpensive and fun.

The Wootten sleep away camp in Frostburg, MD is popular for middle-school ballers, affordable and fun. My son and some of his teammates have attended for past 2 years.

Your son can sign up for group training classes and at least practice shooting. I've noticed many very good shooters make the FCYBL teams yet they lack other game skills (defense, passing). The tryouts can be such free-for-alls, many coaches can only focus on shooting skills.

[Anonymous]

My son also really enjoyed the Wootten camp—it’s particularly fun if they go with friends or teammates.

Also had a good experience with the St John’s basketball camp in DC