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[quote=Anonymous]I don't know much about NoVa.  We live in DC and my son has played all his AAU ball in Maryland.

AAU can be kind of intimidating for new kids because many programs tout their "elite" level teams.  One of DS's friends started late --- seventh grade --- and almost gave up on travel basketball because he went to an AAU tryout in DC where he was the only seventh grader who couldn't dunk.  By 9th grade, he is a solid JV player at a big school and on a relatively high-level AAU team.  If your kid is a phenom --- awesome, you will have no issue.  If your kid is like the other 90% of kids who play travel ball, don't worry --- there are a wide range of programs and usually several levels of teams within each program.  The goal of most is to develop your kid's skills so that they move up from wherever they start to more competitive teams as they gain skills.  The problem if you just look at the organizations' Web sites is that they often say things like "where the best basketball players in the state play", which can turn off parents whose kids are not yet the best in the state.  Certainly there are sponsored teams that are really only looking for high level players, but most programs have a range of levels.

Take a look at the Web site of a program like MADE in Maryland (http://www.madesportsunlimited.org/) --- they offer skills classes, camps and several levels of teams, from a house league to "signature" level teams that compete for national championships.  I'd look at that site and then look for a similar program in NoVa that offers player development -- skills classes and camps in addition to AAU teams.

If your kid is starting in 2nd grade, he's in a great position because he can have really strong fundamental skills by middle and high school.  One thing to think about --- look for programs that focus on fundamentals (defense, ball movement, good mechanics).  Some programs seem to focus on winning NOW and look only for super fast kids and have offenses that consist exclusively of fast breaks and 2nd graders jacking up threes with terrible form.  Helping kids unlearn bad shooting form is something that middle and high school coaches spend way too much time on because what works for 3 foot tall second graders absolutely does not work for  6'5" high schoolers.  Much better to learn proper from form close in and expand range as strength develops.  Look for a program that teaches stuff like that.

Finally -- team dynamics are really important.  My son LOVES basketball and endured two years with a pretty toxic AAU program because we didn't know any better (all the kids thought they were the best on the team, no one passed unless they had to, and they all thought they should be the only one shooting).  Finally, he jumped ship to a friend's team and suddenly basketball was really fun, his confidence grew and his game blossomed.  If you pick a team and it's not a good fit, be open to moving.[/quote]

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