Middle school basketball teams

[Anonymous]

We are at a competitive middle school. My kid is interested in basketball and he and his friends are hoping to make the basketball team next year. With so many kids playing competitively, how likely is it to make the team in middle school and even high school going forward? It seems impossible unless the kid is extremely talented. Being good is not going to cut it.

[Anonymous]

I guess what I am trying to ask is it even worth it to enter this rat race to make the middle and high school basketball team? When the odds are so low? Putting more time into practice and travel to games etc is going to cut into family time and free play. Just thinking out loud. Any btdt parents?

[Anonymous]

It all kind of depends.

First how competitive is your school/area, I know you said it's more on the competitive side.

There are some areas in Montgomery County that are a bit more low key than others. So it is easier to make it onto school teams in those areas. But those teams usually get demolished by schools from more competitive areas.

You should have a general idea on how good your kid is with how they're currently playing. And you ideally want them to be playing in more higher level basketball leagues and teams.

In most cases playground and rec basketball by itself won't cut it.

And I've seen kids show up unprepared for tryouts and sometims overwhelmed and leave part way through crying. (this is for nonschool tryouts)

But at the same time, with 60 to 90 kids showing up for tryouts, you never know who the coaches will spot and notice. We do know of a case at a school where this highly regarded player who is often recruited by other AAU teams didn't make his school team. But someone who played rec, and frankly didn't impress much when we watched him, did make that team that year.

So you never know and if it's something that your kid is interested in, is always worth the try. At the very least they can use tryouts as a measuring stick on where they stand and what areas they need improvement.

And you're right, higher level basketball is huge time and money sink. So is something that you'll need to consider if you want to get into.

[Anonymous]

btw from what I heard, a good portion of those 60 to 90 kids that show up to school tryouts are kids that enjoy basketball but may have never played competitively.

So a lot of them get weeded out in the earlier cuts. So don't let the large number of people show up make dissuade you from having your kid tryout.

This is all without really knowing your kid's level of basketball. It helps their chances if they're playing more competitively. And if they do do that, they should be ahead most of the others with just that.

[Anonymous]

Very difficult to answer this question, obviously, but I'd suggest going to games this year when they start and take a look at the 7th graders and see how yours would stack up (a year from now).

[Anonymous]

It’s nearly impossible to make at my son’s MCPS middle and high school if you are not already a starter on a very competitive travel team

[Anonymous]

How do you define play "competitively"? Meaning skills and scoring already great or have potential to grow (but not there yet)? Does height make a distance for MS kids?

[Anonymous]

Is there a mcps MS & HS basketball boy team ranking?

[Anonymous]

I mean ~12 man roster, with ~half of the spots taken by returning 8th graders, leaving ~6 spots for your son. If he knows the players in his grade well, he can probably figure out if he can somehow get in the top 6. Of course, who knows what will happen in his tryout, but that will give him a sense. If he's 20th on his mental ranking list in his grade, then maybe don't bother entering the "rat race".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you define play "competitively"? Meaning skills and scoring already great or have potential to grow (but not there yet)? Does height make a distance for MS kids?

Of course height makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you define play "competitively"? Meaning skills and scoring already great or have potential to grow (but not there yet)? Does height make a distance for MS kids?

By playing competitively I mean playing on competitive teams and leagues.

Since your middle school is competitive, you're going to have to assume that there are a lot of AAU players.

So where is your kid playing now?

Are they playing in rec? And how are they doing in rec? And remember rec is like the very baseline. Where personally I think everyone should have some rec experience before going to the next level. But do know some people who go straight to AAU at a young age and also know some great rec teams that have been together for a while and well coached.

If they're standing out in rec, they MAYBE have a shot?

But if they're playing more competitively, as in AAU or inbetween leagues, that would be a better measuring stick on how they are. Where as mentioned you're going to have to assume that a lot of players that show up have aau playing experience or that midlevel league playing experience.

Depending on the team, especially for school teams, I doubt there will be many cases of coaches looking for diamonds in the rough that they can develop. If they have so many players to pick from, there's really no reason for them to go that route. If a player is tall and athletic, maaaybe? But it doesn't help much if someone is tall and doesn't know how to play, in terms of skills, iq and mentality. But if the majority of the team is on the smaller side, MAYBE they'll take a chance on a tall kid? Can't really say.

Also going back to your original question, school basketball teams doesn't necessarily have to be the goal and the end of your kid's organized basketball playing career. Rec leagues can be great and I've seen some rec teams that are better than some AAU teams. And there are different levels of AAU teams and you should hopefully be able to find one that is the right fit for your family.

[Anonymous]

btw in terms of height there were some shorter players on my kid's aau team where I was a little bit concerned about their chances on making their school teams, just based off of their height. They definitely had the skills and iq and was why I was kind of worried that they'd get passed over.

But they all made their school teams.

So height helps. But being able to play is more important.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! My kid has been playing rec for many years. We tried ‘travel’ but it didn’t make sense logistically. We got annoyed by how the basketball leagues are run. You don’t know when and where the games are till like Wednesday or Thursday of that week. Can’t schedule anything etc. So didn’t want to live our lives around basketball schedule. So we stuck to rec. He has a lot of potential to improve though. Wish these basketball leagues were run more efficiently.

[Anonymous]

My kid tried out in 8th grade at a very competitive middle school (W school cluster). He has only played rec. He made it to the final round and was proud of himself for being the only kid there who played rec. He didn’t make the final cut though.

[Anonymous]

I feel like a lot of kids join travel teams in the hopes of joining their school teams but in many cases it doesn’t work out.