NOVA AAU TEAMS (Nova94, Fairfax Stars, NovaCavaliers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS tried out a new team called Valiant Knight. It's a brand new/unknown team and the coach had to distribute tryout flyers in our local MS gym. Not a lot of kids showed up in the tryout and it was very easy to make the team. DS would most likely be a starter and have a lot of playing time.

DS also made another well-known team and we were about to reject the offer from Valiant Knight. But then I looked up the coach's name and was quite surprised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SirValiant_Brown. He was a pro player and second in the nation in scoring in 1999 (NCAA D1). He is very nice and low-key. Many well-known AAU coaches in this area claim to have exceptional backgrounds but none compare to him.

So should DS join this team? The team may not be competitive, but will DS improve significantly with this coach, especially with more playing time? DS used to play for two of the well-known clubs mentioned in the subject, but I saw no significant improvement over the course of the season.

What is he charging? Is he going to be the coach or will he have other people coaching the team?

I asked because it looks like he has multiple teams. I have seen coaches who played pro in another country use their name and local basketball reputation to establish an AAU program that charges too much, they don’t want to coach, get a parent volunteer or even some teenager to coach, and really not take part in the the team other than collect money.

[Anonymous]

Also charging $45 to try out is a bit sus.

[Anonymous]

He's coaching together with his cousin.$45 is a little expensive but not unusual for 3 tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's coaching together with his cousin.$45 is a little expensive but not unusual for 3 tryouts.

How much for the season?

[Anonymous]

500

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:500

$500 isn’t too bad. Are they going until July?

[Anonymous]

Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

For $500, they are probably only going for 2 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone speak to their experience with Fairfax Stars? DS made the 10U team.

What about the St. James AAU team? We expect DS to make it there as well. We were not able to try out for Nova CAVS or NOVA 94 due to conflicts with other games.

It's all about the coaches and less about programs. You may also have to decide if you want your player getting more playing time on a "lesser" team or less playing time on a "better" team. I tend to favor the former especially for a 10 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

For $500, they are probably only going for 2 months.

$500 for the Spring season (March to June).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

For $500, they are probably only going for 2 months.

$500 for the Spring season (March to June).

That’s $250 per month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

For $500, they are probably only going for 2 months.

$500 for the Spring season (March to June).

That’s $250 per month.

Probably another $100 for uniforms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

For $500, they are probably only going for 2 months.

$500 for the Spring season (March to June).

That’s $250 per month.

Probably another $100 for uniforms

To be honest, the travel basketball cost is relatively cheaper than other sports. Cost is not really an issue. How to improve in a more effective way is what I care about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call the coach and ask him if he will be coaching. I would personally go with the established team but playing time is important and $500 is about half of what these other teams charge so it doesn't look to be a money grab. AAU is just a lot of time and sometimes I think that the newer teams don't realize this.

For $500, they are probably only going for 2 months.

$500 for the Spring season (March to June).

That’s $250 per month.

Probably another $100 for uniforms

To be honest, the travel basketball cost is relatively cheaper than other sports. Cost is not really an issue. How to improve in a more effective way is what I care about

He was a little man who was able to get to the highest level of a big man’s game. His basketball IQ is proven so I am sure he is a good trainer. Sounds like a good option. Nowadays, many players are playing with multiple teams so you could also do both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone speak to their experience with Fairfax Stars? DS made the 10U team.

What about the St. James AAU team? We expect DS to make it there as well. We were not able to try out for Nova CAVS or NOVA 94 due to conflicts with other games.

As others have said, a team is as good as the talent level recruited and the coaching. And how many players are stacked onto the team.

Fairfax Stars is a solid AAU organization, tops for girls but not recently competitive for boys. It is expensive... registration/practice fee ($475 I think) charged for the season (and charges for every season), plus uniforms, plus cost-sharing of all tournaments, and expenses (mileage) for coaches to attend away tournaments.

St James hires "professional" coaches/trainers so you are essentially paying for training and expensive gym space. I think the fee was $1000 last fall/winter. But some of the coaches quit last year leaving the teams hanging.

I consider both to be decent starter teams for development. NoVA Cavs and Nova94 (orange) had their pick of talent from the many FCYBL travel kids who showed up for tryouts.

FWIW The talent level at the Stars tryouts was pretty solid. Most likely as they had their existing roster show up - so maybe they were only looking to fill a handful of spots? The coach also seems solid and not a dad coach.