The opportunity to win a world championship on any level is undoubtedly enticing to coaches and players alike. The grassroots level is no different. Unfortunately, with AAU’s national tournament now competing with hundreds of other summer ending showcases across the country, identifying a true global champion has become nothing more than hypothetical arguments among players, coaches and fans. Indivisible Hoops is on a mission to fix that problem with the Youth World Basketball Championships.

The west coast based company was started by a duo of former college coaches who sought to establish a unified destination for grassroots basketball stakeholders without regard to shoe affiliation or region. They started with the IndiHoops website, using it as a database for club team information and eventually watched it blossom into a multidimensional platform that now provides national and regional AAU rankings from 13U to 17U.

They didn’t stop there; 2016 marks the beginning of a new frontier for the organization. The company has embarked on a journey that will see it launch its first World Championship for the class of 2020. The tournament will showcase the top 8th grade talent across the nation- an age that Indihoops believes marks a turning point in every young basketball player’s career.   Indihoops affiliate Brian Hersman stated “We see 8th grade as the very last experience before a player hits high school and a lot of things change. We wanted this to be about [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"][a small group] where we can put all our focus on their experience; [one] they will never forget in beautiful San Diego.” The tournament will center on the quality of competition as opposed to the quantity of teams present in a youth world basketball championships format. Only a select group of teams across the country qualified to compete. Of those qualifiers, 16 will compete in one game a day, allowing squads ample rest in between games and also giving each team an opportunity to explore their surroundings after they compete. “[P]rograms can focus on not only the basketball portion but enjoying the city, the beach or whatever attractions San Diego has that they are interested in.  San Diego is voted as one of the best travel destinations in the world and we want to showcase that as well” Hersman noted.

With immense experience running basketball tournaments, the hardwood focused company anticipates showcasing a world class event that will attract a broad audience ranging from local fans to national scouts. And for those who are unable to attend, the championship and 3rd place games will be streamed live with color commentary on the IndiHoops website giving players at this age level unmatched exposure. It is no surprise that many of the coaches are eager to see how their team stacks up against the competition. Jason Vaughn, coach of 43 Hoops, a grassroots program based in Minnesota, stated “Our guys are just excited for the opportunity to play in the event and looking forward to playing against many teams that we haven't seen before. It's a unique opportunity to play against the best teams and players in the country. I think we would all be lying if we said that winning the tournament wouldn't be a dream for the kids who have put in a ton of work trying to get to this level." Matt Brush, Director of Team Thunderstruck in Orlando is similarly excited about having his team compete in the field. Thunderstruck boasts some of the top 8th graders in the country including Gervon Dexter and Leonard Manuel and won the vaunted NYBL championship this season. “We want a tournament where every team could lose any game. We want that type of competition. We want to prove that we are one of top teams in the country” stated Brush.

The IWC is shaping up to be the premier finale event in the country for 8th graders factoring in competition, location, and tournament structure. On August 12th, 16 teams will start on equal footing with a chance to be labeled the best 8th graders in the world and on August 14th one team will be named a champion.