NOVA AAU TEAMS (Nova94, Fairfax Stars, NovaCavaliers

[Anonymous]

What is the usual price point for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The coaches will play the best starting 5 in almost every scenario. 80% of the time, their kid is one of the best 5. The other 20%, they are probably tied with another kid so got the edge being a son. I know it’s easier to just blame lack of playing time with coach having favoritism but it’s just not true in most cases. AAU teams need to win in order to be sustainable.

And no I’m not a coach nor do it have a spouse that is. I’m a seasoned AAU mom with a high schooler. Personal 1:1 training outside AAU makes a world of difference. You can’t just rely on AAU workouts. My son quickly moved into starting 5 (and now top 2 players) within 3 months.

My kid is always a starting 5 but not the best. Or maybe they are and I don't give them credit...lol I just think they reserve some "best players" to sub in. You have to watch carefully. Last off the bench is also telling.

I am curious what 1:1 training you recommend...

DNA Elite in VA (they also have a few mainly older 14U AAU teams) does individual and group training. TripleThreat in MD is also a great organization that does both trainings as well.

My kid is on JV at a WCAC HS and the things that I personally think have made the difference to be able to play competitive HS ball are

1. ball handling and shooting drills on their own (if your kid is not willing to practice and work out on their own time don't bother paying for #2 & #3)
2. strength and agility training
3. small group / 1:1 training for shooting and positional training (1:1 is good, but, some skills are best learned in small groups; a good trainer will have enough kids that they can be grouped for effective small groups)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The coaches will play the best starting 5 in almost every scenario. 80% of the time, their kid is one of the best 5. The other 20%, they are probably tied with another kid so got the edge being a son. I know it’s easier to just blame lack of playing time with coach having favoritism but it’s just not true in most cases. AAU teams need to win in order to be sustainable.

And no I’m not a coach nor do it have a spouse that is. I’m a seasoned AAU mom with a high schooler. Personal 1:1 training outside AAU makes a world of difference. You can’t just rely on AAU workouts. My son quickly moved into starting 5 (and now top 2 players) within 3 months.

On our son's AAU team last spring, the 2 coaches' sons were very good ball handlers but there were 4 other very good ball handlers (guards) on the team. Rest of the team tall/forwards. The 6 guards all started out at about the same skill level (our son and 2 others with prior AAU experience) but the 2 coaches sons played 80-90 percent of game minutes (yes, we tracked times in/out), subbed out for a few minutes of water breaks, then right back in. The other 4 guards were benchers for water breaks (except one guard's dad was friend with a coach so he played more than other 3) and sometimes more if a coach son was injured or too tired. Same scenario in blowouts either way. So by the end of the season, the 2 coaches' sons were most definitely the "best" having played so much! When parents spoke to the head coach about more play time, he always came up with a lukewarm excuse about dribbling or not paying enough attention in practice. We lucked out by finding him another team for our son at end of season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking at 11U, the Nova Cavs 11U coach is coaching the Vienna B team in 5th gr FCYBL. They may have one or two more games, so you could go see him coach and watch his subbing, treatment of the boys etc.

Nova 94 Feet is starting a new team for 5th grade so it might be easier to get in on that team since your son won't have to be substantially better than existing players.

My son's team played this team. Yeah, great advice to go see his coaching "style" before wasting time trying out.

Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking at 11U, the Nova Cavs 11U coach is coaching the Vienna B team in 5th gr FCYBL. They may have one or two more games, so you could go see him coach and watch his subbing, treatment of the boys etc.

Nova 94 Feet is starting a new team for 5th grade so it might be easier to get in on that team since your son won't have to be substantially better than existing players.

My son's team played this team. Yeah, great advice to go see his coaching "style" before wasting time trying out.

Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

DP. I'm confused but now my radar is up, as DS is trying out for this team but I get the sense he would ride the bench for an established team. Choosing a good fit travel team is difficult without connections.

[Anonymous]

Go see their first tournament game this weekend. There will be kids on the team you will also see at the tryouts. The more info the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

DP. I'm confused but now my radar is up, as DS is trying out for this team but I get the sense he would ride the bench for an established team. Choosing a good fit travel team is difficult without connections.

You need to dig for this bit of intel and don't expect the truth up front. We asked, were re-assured, yet still our DC was on the bench a lot. OK for a low-cost team but AAU expenses add up as do your travel bills. No fun spending an entire weekend at out of town tournament to watch DC sit.

[Anonymous]

Is it shady to charge for tryouts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

DP. I'm confused but now my radar is up, as DS is trying out for this team but I get the sense he would ride the bench for an established team. Choosing a good fit travel team is difficult without connections.

You need to dig for this bit of intel and don't expect the truth up front. We asked, were re-assured, yet still our DC was on the bench a lot. OK for a low-cost team but AAU expenses add up as do your travel bills. No fun spending an entire weekend at out of town tournament to watch DC sit.

Try to find a video of one of their games posted online and track the play time of the kids who don't start.

[Anonymous]

Is the problematic coaching style for an U11 team in reference to Nova94 or Nova Cavaliers?

[Anonymous]

11U Nova Cavs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go see their first tournament game this weekend. There will be kids on the team you will also see at the tryouts. The more info the better.

Sat Feb 26th at 11:30 at Liberty MS. Vienna/Nova Cavs coach is the 4 seed vs. the 5 seed team.

If he's such a great coach, I wonder why he's coaching the Vienna D2 team instead of their better D1 team.........

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it shady to charge for tryouts?

I don’t think so. They need to weed out who is serious from those who are just there for curiosity. Plus, cost of gym and coaches etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The coaches will play the best starting 5 in almost every scenario. 80% of the time, their kid is one of the best 5. The other 20%, they are probably tied with another kid so got the edge being a son. I know it’s easier to just blame lack of playing time with coach having favoritism but it’s just not true in most cases. AAU teams need to win in order to be sustainable.

And no I’m not a coach nor do it have a spouse that is. I’m a seasoned AAU mom with a high schooler. Personal 1:1 training outside AAU makes a world of difference. You can’t just rely on AAU workouts. My son quickly moved into starting 5 (and now top 2 players) within 3 months.

On our son's AAU team last spring, the 2 coaches' sons were very good ball handlers but there were 4 other very good ball handlers (guards) on the team. Rest of the team tall/forwards. The 6 guards all started out at about the same skill level (our son and 2 others with prior AAU experience) but the 2 coaches sons played 80-90 percent of game minutes (yes, we tracked times in/out), subbed out for a few minutes of water breaks, then right back in. The other 4 guards were benchers for water breaks (except one guard's dad was friend with a coach so he played more than other 3) and sometimes more if a coach son was injured or too tired. Same scenario in blowouts either way. So by the end of the season, the 2 coaches' sons were most definitely the "best" having played so much! When parents spoke to the head coach about more play time, he always came up with a lukewarm excuse about dribbling or not paying enough attention in practice. We lucked out by finding him another team for our son at end of season.

A kid’s effort at practice absolutely does go into the equation. Also, there are many soft skills in basketball that you don’t seem to be aware of. Court awareness, basketball IQ etc. My son is a heavily recruited ball player and we’ve played with a few AAU coaches. The coach’s son didn’t get better because he played more minutes in a game. He got better because he was putting in the work at practice and very likely getting side training. I don’t know of any coach’s son that doesn’t do side personal training. I agree with WCAC parent above, small group sessions are great for situational training as well. I know it’s easy to say coach is playing favoritism, but I’m 99% sure your kid is just not as good. And that’s okay. It’s rare to see the best kids at age 11 become the best kids at age 16. You have time. Put in the work, try multiple AAU teams for fit, and ensure your son is working 6-7 hours a week on his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it shady to charge for tryouts?

I don’t think so. They need to weed out who is serious from those who are just there for curiosity. Plus, cost of gym and coaches etc

Ten bucks to try out to cover gym rental, fine.

$40-$50 or more is just a cash grab and makes me want nothing to do with them.