Hoops City AAU coaches and administrators are committed to the process of preparing our student-athletes to become the best they can be, for scholastic and potentially a collegiate opportunity (Club and/or Varsity level). We strive for excellence through fundamental and advanced level training. Our hope is that athletes who participate in the Hoops City AAU Basketball program will leave with a sense of accomplishment, pride and confidence to pursue their own basketball aspirations.
Hoops City’s approach to coaching is focused entirely on individual skill development, as we believe that this will ultimately translate into success for the team and a stronger self-image in each player. We strongly believe in the potential of each player, and it is the goal of the Hoops City AAU coaches and administration to help realize that potential.
Hoops City’s focus on individual development is part of a larger goal which is success as a team/club. Every parent wants their son and daughter to be better than they were when they started the program. Additionally, every parent has certain performance standards for the team, and would like to see the team win games. With this in mind, Hoops City U believes that it is the responsibility of the coaches, the parents and the players to make a concerted effort towards that goal.
The Hoops City Approach
Training in the Fundamentals & Application thereof = Performance
No reasonable basketball expert can refute the fact that the fundamental skills of American players are slipping, and so is the American game. The Hoops City AAU Training Program aims to address this problem head on. We feel AAU coaches should focus on skill and team development. We believe in Pete Newell’s contention that basketball is "over-coached and under-taught". This statement by a legendary coach and teacher couldn’t be truer.
Our approach to instruction is based on the training of individuals in the fundamental skills of the game and teaching players how to play instead of how to run plays. The measure of a teacher is not in the winning, but in the fundamental soundness and skill level of the players taught. A player with excellent fundamentals and skills can play successfully in any system with any coach.
Every AAU Team Training Session dedicates a minimum of 80% of its allotted time toward fundamental skill development, which impacts the improvement of each player. At Hoops City, we have implemented a combination of intense skills and team training with the opportunity to apply them in competitive games in a controlled environment. While exposure to a certain quantity of games with excellent training does impact an individual’s skill development, it is pointless for a young person to play an excessive schedule. Our program strikes a healthy balance
All Hoops City AAU Teams will train WEEKLY with Professional Basketball Trainer Micah Lancaster and additional Team Practices with your Coach (# of times per week depends on age). Lancaster has impacted numerous International, NBA and Collegiate Athletes throughout the World with his innovative skill refinement drills. Athletes will benefit from these same drills and train AS THE PROS DO! Typically, teams will play 7-9 Tournaments in either AAU, USBA, YBOA or a combination (depending on strength of team), many are in the Raleigh area, limiting the need for overnight travel.
“If you look at a wide variety of AAU programs nationally, you will find young kids traveling the country playing games, and not being able to practice or work on their games. It is really that simple. While young kids are busy traversing the country to play in AAU competitions, they are spending hour upon hour running up and down the court in a helter-skelter atmosphere where, 95 percent of the time, they do not have the ball in their hands. What this does is cement bad habits -- and habits, good or bad, are what players revert to under stress.” Jay Bilas, ESPN
