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Tavon Scott

Ms. Furst

English IV

March 5, 2017

The Benefits of Travel Basketball Alongside High School Basketball

Making your way to the professionals league is not an easy task, it takes hard work and

determination to see any dreams come true. However, in order to become a professional

basketball player, one has to either display extraordinary skills during their high school years or

be able to travel to different states to showcase their talents. As a result, this brings up several

questions for many parents; should my child spend his or her time playing basketball for a school

organization? Should they choose to travel and have a better chance of being recognized?

Whichever decision the athlete decides to make, he or she is quite aware of all the extensive

days, time, and effort they will have to put into practicing, in order to continuously improve their

skills and abilities.

The most guaranteed way to make it to the level of professional basketball is by playing

high school basketball. High School basketball is much more structured than travel basketball

because it has specific rules that has to be followed. To play high school basketball, an athlete

has to meet several of the requirements set by the school and the schools district. According to

the NCHSAA, a few of those requirements are: if a player is not between the ninth and twelfth

grade, then that player is not allowed to play in any practice or game. The student athlete must

also live in the correct jurisdiction which is linked to their high school, in order to be counted

eligible to participate with the team in any events. If, for any reason, the student athlete is
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switching between schools then the last day they are able to make a switch is on the 1st of

December.

High School basketball helps the student athlete to see their full potential and to develop

a sense of self-esteem. According to Grace Chen, being on the team with the support and

guidance of the coach, athletes will be better equipped on the importance of fundamental skills

and teamwork, to assist them with life situations on and off the court. With the coachs

expectation of being a good role model and making sound decisions, players will evolve into

great citizens who are able to enter the workforce with a responsible and self-sufficient attitude.

According to the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan,kids who participate in

organized sports do better in school, have better interpersonal skills, are more team oriented, and

are generally healthier (chen). College coaches usually have a moving and powerful impact

with the high school coaches, but the college coach would rather rely on the personal analysis

with that player according to Jason Smith (Head Baseball Recruiting Coach). Coaches are

usually busy during the season with there own team, so most of the time they are unable to

evaluate the player until summer, which is a great time to be reviewed by coaches.

On the word of Lindsey Wilson, college coaches want their athletes to be mentally

prepared. Apart of being a recruited athlete, players have to be able to handle discomforting

comments and being disappointed. Coaches prefer to have brave and courageous athletes on their

team instead of someone who is easily timid. Lindsey Wilson states that coaches tend to focus

less on when a player makes a mistake, but rather to see a more positive outcome of the players

mistake.
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On the other hand, travel basketball is quite different from high school basketball. Travel

basketball is associated with an organization called The Amateur Athletic Union, otherwise

known as the AAU. The AAU is a large multi-sports organization that has a districts in every

state within the United States of America. The AAU program gives young athletes of all age

groups and skills level a chance to battle in qualifying tournaments. However, if a team shows

extraordinary skills then those players are able to qualify in district championships and national

championships. According to Lamar Hull, If your child plays in the AAU, they could have the

advantage of playing against the top young athletes in the country. This is beneficial in the long

term because it improves the skill of an athlete and at some point of their career they will become

better opponent. Lamar Hull explains playing against Chris Paul (NBA star for the Los Angeles

Clippers), Of course his powerhouse AAU team beat our local team, but I scored 26 points and

he scored 27. He and I played well against each other, but knowing before the game that I was

about to play against a top college basketball recruit, provided me with a challenge that would

really test my work-ethic and skills.

According to William Hoke (Head coach of the Titans), coaching for travel ball is way

different from high school. Coaches look for players that already know the game, so they

doesn't have to worry about going threw the beginner steps with their team. The coaches main

concern will focus on how to make his team better and the areas they need to work on as a team.

William also voiced his opinion by saying, travel basketball gives college coaches a chance to

see athlete compete first hand with some of the top basketball players in the country. The AAU

has also partnered with Walt Disney (which has come to an thirty year agreement), bringing The

Amateur Athletic Union headquarter center to the Walt Disney World Resorts. These two
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companies have reached a lot of achievements that includes having a diverse demographics of

athletes, and has had approximately seventy-two (72) million potential customers visit from

AAU activities.

Both basketball leagues entails many benefits for college. NCAA benefits because high

school and college coaches have a connection, so the high school coaches can tell the college

coaches the pros and cons of each of their past players. They also benefit from travel basketball,

which is in the summer; this is also when most of the college coaches do their scouting, and

recruiting process because it is their offseason. NCAA also benefits from the funds which comes

in off the players performance, as shown in Figure 1. Even if the student athlete does not get

to pursue the college dream which they prefer, it does not mean they will not get to play college

basketball. The NCAA created three divisions of college basketball. Division one is the biggest

division, this consists of the Kansas, Duke and Chapel hill. Only the top recruits go to D1, so it is

a great accomplishment if a player makes it there. Then you have Division two, these are schools

that are just as good, but just smaller than a D1; schools such as Lenoir-Rhyne University. The

last division, D3, consist of Kenyon College. All of these schools are difficult to get accepted

into; athletes still have to be unbelievable talented. It is a great achievement when an athlete is

accepted to play at any level of college basketball especially if it is their childhood dream.

Attending college has a lot of benefits to it, one of those benefits will be meeting new

people. As being part of a new team you will get the chance to be among a diverse group of

people; where you will be able to discover and achieve goals together. Another benefit is gaining

a sense of well-being; being a college athlete will enable you to practice a healthier lifestyle.

Athletes are highly motivated and goal oriented individuals, so it is safe to say that many players
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have put in a lot of time and effort into working towards being college athletes. From early

morning workouts, practices, and difficult training it all becomes an athlete's second instinct and

apart of their daily routine. The lifestyle you develop as an athlete often times carry over into

their professional life and personal life, even if they do not go pro; mainly because you still have

the athletic mentality within yourself. An athlete will still make time to stay in shape and live a

healthy lifestyle. When searching for a job, potential managers often times look for and want

former athletes. They understand the lessons learned through years of being an athlete translate

into a good employee. Athletes more than likely will have great time management skills,

leadership skills, and the ability to effectively communicate within a team and other around

them. Those simple, but important qualities often intigure employer's. NCSA Athletic

Recruiting conducted a survey of 100 CEOs; they learned that 100 percent of these employers

would be more likely to hire a student-athlete than a non-student athlete if all other factors were

equal (Aaron Sorenson) . They also said 60 percent would hire a student-athlete with a lower

grade-point average before a non-student-athlete with a higher grade average.

Now to make it to the big leagues, it is no easy journey, you have to put uncountable time

into the game. Being an NBA player means you're some of the better players being recruited out

of college. At this point your dreams has come through. A Lot of professional players played

travel and high school growing up, but most of them say travel helped them reach their

potential talent. Travel basketball and high school play both help you get into college and to

pursue your dreams. Travel helps a little more because you get to not to only play against your

friends and other athletes that live in the state but also against the top athletes around the country.
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That opportunity gives the experience a person might need to make leap into the NCAA and onto

the next level.

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