What is AAU Basketball?

AAU Boys Basketball brings youth basketball clubs to a higher level. AAU, short for the Amateur Athletic Union, is one of the largest non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. They operate independently from all other local and nationwide leagues. You may be familiar with the terminology of “club basketball” or “grassroots basketball,” these terms are used interchangeably, but are usually referring to AAU.

Not all local teams are AAU certified and there is typically no governing body. This is why it is important to be organized; anyone can start an AAU team or club team. Upon registration with the AAU you will receive a membership card to validate your participation. You can choose to sign your child up before or after you find a local club, if one doesn’t exist you can even create your own. The AAU is proud of the professional development and in fact, 99% of the Americans in the last NBA drafts have come through the AAU system.

Nationwide Competition

You can find all the information regarding nationwide events online or at indihoops.wpengine.com. Some of the larger, well known teams are the Houston Hoops, Oakland Soldiers, Cal Supreme, Seattle Rotary, Indiana Elite and DC Assault. These teams are spread nationwide; at this time, most large cities and surrounding areas have AAU youth basketball teams. NBA superstars such as Lebron James and Rookie of the Year played through the AAU system.  The largest AAU events occur during the NCAA live periods of April and July where NCAA coaches are allowed to scout the players. Many youth players have come through the AAU system and have been chosen to represent the USA collegiate team and USA men’s basketball team.

What can you do?

Sign up and start looking for a team during the year.  High School tryouts typically occur right after the High School season is over.  The AAU circuit will for HS will then go April - July.  The AAU travelling basketball clubs are great high competition basketball leagues to participate in.  By choosing the to play AAU Basketball, your child will be exposed to high competition, fun and dedicated coaches early on in their basketball careers.  There are some bad apples, so do proper research before you get involved.  However, there are a lot of great things going on in AAU Basketball today.

By - Cutler4Life