Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who wants to go all the way out to manassas for weeknight practices tho

Manassas is better that going around the beltway then heading way out in bumfuk pg county somewhere.

If your Virginia kid develops into a very skilled player after years of AAU, you will commute to find the best fit teams because close-in local (and daddy ball and FCYBL) teams are not good enough for further development. We've been commuting to PG county or DC gyms for twice weekly practices for 3 years now. Many of the national teams are based in PG county and several other good VA teams like VA Playmakers are based in Manassas.

That said, NoVA Cavs and some NoVA94 Orange teams are very good "national" travel teams but unless your kid is a big BIG or lights-out shooter, it will be very difficult to break into their "A" teams.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who wants to go all the way out to manassas for weeknight practices tho

Manassas is better that going around the beltway then heading way out in bumfuk pg county somewhere.

I guess it depends on where you live but 66 west to Manassas is a nightmare from 2pm-8pm

Anonymous wrote:Who wants to go all the way out to manassas for weeknight practices tho

Manassas is better that going around the beltway then heading way out in bumfuk pg county somewhere.

Who wants to go all the way out to manassas for weeknight practices tho

Anonymous wrote:I think VA Playmakers has beat nearly every team listed here. They won nationals too in 2024 summer. Nationally competitive 7th (2030), 8th (2031) and HS AAU teams. Practice out in Manassas.

va_playmakers on Instagram

Their 15U and 16U teams last year were not good at all...17U I believe was pretty good.

I think VA Playmakers has beat nearly every team listed here. They won nationals too in 2024 summer. Nationally competitive 7th (2030), 8th (2031) and HS AAU teams. Practice out in Manassas.

va_playmakers on Instagram

PVT is a mess. It’s a split between kids from VA and MD. They will never play together in HS. Coaches are okay, but they can’t seem to decide if they’re a VA team or an MD team. Games and practices are all over the place, with some very long commutes.

There are better teams in each state anyway (Elevate Elite, Stars, Takeover, Durant, shockers, Hurricanes, Etc), but it’s a weird approach.

One of the best ways to find out about try outs in Instagram. Almost all teams have an instagram page and post their try out information there. Find afew teams that have been listed in this forum and like their pages, then once you've liked a few pages Instagram will show you others similar pages and you will start finding local teams. also go to some local teams pages and find who they follow, and you'll find a lot more teams. Everyday for the last few weeks all I see is try out information for the teams. You'll have to spend a little time and find teams close to you but there is a ton of information on Instagram once you get the hang of it.

Isn't Potomac Valley Thunder under the STJ umbrella now? Why are the practices still in Maryland?

You should check out all of the teams mentioned, but I will note that you should keep two things in mind, as the goal at this age is development, not circuits or winning games:

1) Coach - We have played on big name teams and lesser known teams, and now that my DC is older, I realized that development is more important than the team name. If you can find a coach that really focuses on development, provides equal playing time, and has a sincere interest in your child, that is more important than a team's reputation. Team reputations are usually around the older teams, but the younger teams don't always get good coaches. Fairfax Stars are a good example, as their HS teams are great, but they consistently fail to develop their younger players, most of whom will not make the HS teams. Development should be the goal before the HS years.

2) Location - Don't commit to driving an hour to practices each week. It is not worth it. Find a local team in your immediate area before driving 45min-1 hour for a team. Potomac Valley Thunder is a good example. If you live in VA, don't join PVT. It is not worth it to try to get to MD for practices on weeknights when the commute may take an hour to get to practice.

One other point of advice - Friends. Find a team with local kids that your child likes to play with. Keeping your kids interested in the sport is very important if you want your child to continue playing. If they play with kids they do not like or kids who are selfish with the ball with lead to burnout. Keep the game fun and your child will likely keep waninting to play, leading to further development.

The goal at the younger ages should always be development, not brands, circuits, etc.

Another local program that hasn't been mentioned on the thread yet is Beltway Ballerz. Well run and competitive. Not sure if they had tryouts yet.

Anonymous wrote:Is it hard to get county permits for gym space to pracrice?

Hopefully someone has more current info, but 5 years ago it was easier to get gym space from Arlington instead of Fairfax, however it helped to know someone who worked for the county to get a quicker response.

Is it hard to get county permits for gym space to pracrice?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Cyclones

This team is the biggest scam on the planet. They held tryouts - and only their own sons and son’s friends somehow made the first cut despite there being far more qualified athletes who aren’t from rich Arlington social circles.

Form your own team, find coaches, practice space, enter leagues/tournaments, communicate with parents. We had a great experience on a team that used my son's future HS coach as one of its coaches. Who cares if the organizing parent's kid gets to play? That kid could hang with everyone skills-wise.

The reality is basketball is really competitive for boys in this area. You can have a talented kid that isn't a "star" or is just average tall (not basketball tall). My talented kid got passed over a couple times for the more competitive MS-aged teams because he hadn't hit 6 foot yet. They'd rather develop the right kid who is going to be basketball tall than take shorter kids who have been playing for years. Sooner you are realistic about your kid's talent and genetics the better.

Most of the non-circuit teams that I know of are parent generated. I don't know if Cyclones is or not, but probably is too. Several years ago my kid wanted to continue playing AAU —not to be recruited (which would never happen) but to keep playing before their varsity seasons. I did everything administratively to get a team together and parents agreed to coach. It is surprisingly easy to do. Many schools want the revenue from team practice. There were no shoe sponsorships but lots of appropriately competitive and fun basketball.

Good for you and thanks for doing the work so more kids can play. I've never met a coach's kid that wasn't middle of the pack or better. The only people that whine about the coach's kid on these type of teams are the people who overestimate their kids ability.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Cyclones

This team is the biggest scam on the planet. They held tryouts - and only their own sons and son’s friends somehow made the first cut despite there being far more qualified athletes who aren’t from rich Arlington social circles.

Form your own team, find coaches, practice space, enter leagues/tournaments, communicate with parents. We had a great experience on a team that used my son's future HS coach as one of its coaches. Who cares if the organizing parent's kid gets to play? That kid could hang with everyone skills-wise.

The reality is basketball is really competitive for boys in this area. You can have a talented kid that isn't a "star" or is just average tall (not basketball tall). My talented kid got passed over a couple times for the more competitive MS-aged teams because he hadn't hit 6 foot yet. They'd rather develop the right kid who is going to be basketball tall than take shorter kids who have been playing for years. Sooner you are realistic about your kid's talent and genetics the better.

Most of the non-circuit teams that I know of are parent generated. I don't know if Cyclones is or not, but probably is too. Several years ago my kid wanted to continue playing AAU —not to be recruited (which would never happen) but to keep playing before their varsity seasons. I did everything administratively to get a team together and parents agreed to coach. It is surprisingly easy to do. Many schools want the revenue from team practice. There were no shoe sponsorships but lots of appropriately competitive and fun basketball.