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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Camps at the school will do nothing.  Bear in mind that an "early aptitude" if you are talking about a kid who is younger than 12 or 13 is a poor predictor of high school aptitude. If you are talking about an early elementary aged kid their current ability is almost worthless as a predictor of high school ability.  Prepubescent boys can demonstrate coordination and speed, but kids who seemed very fast and coordinated at like 7 or 8 are frequently flatten out in comparative talent by 11 or 12. Kids develop at different rates and as "early aptitude" kids get older, their peers will often catch up and sometimes far surpass them. Most of the kids who were the stars of my kid's 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade basketball teams stopped playing in middle school. Meanwhile, my kid hit a growth spurt in middle school and is still playing in high school.

And that's the other big unknown before puberty: body/build/size/strength. Unless you and your spouse are very very tall (or your prepubescent kid is already very very tall) there is really no predicting size and strength post-puberty both of which are key in basketball--particularly in the DMV where every high school is very competitive, but especially so those that you mentioned.

All of this to say that you should try to lower your expectations, which will only place unnecessary pressure on your kid.  It would suck for you and the kid if you enroll him in a $50k school in 3rd grade with the expectation that it will lead to D1 college recruitment. That's a big investment for a lottery-like chance at getting any real playing time at one of the top basketball high schools in the DMV.  It's not easier to getting playing time at a top high school just because you happen to already be at the school -- these schools recruit.

So you should send your kid to the school that you think is the right fit for him now (in terms of academics and other needs), let him tryout for the area's top AAU teams, and see where it goes.  If he turns out to be a great prospect in middle school, the high schools you mention will find him. If not, you saved him and yourself a lot of unnecessary stress and expense. [/quote]

This is the right answer.[/quote]

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