Wednesday, Jun. 02, 2010

Young hoops players take flight

Recreational leagues help teach fundamentals, provide chance to be seen by coaches

The Triangle Flight U11 boys' basketball team might be novices at hoops, but the average spectator wouldn't know it. These little guys play with big hearts, and in two short years, they have gone from knowing little about the game to a U.S. Basketball Association ranking of No. 2 in the nation.

On May 21 and 22, North Raleigh and Midtown Raleigh church and recreational center basketball courts rang out with the sounds so familiar to basketball lovers: the swish of the net, the thump of bouncing balls as they hit the hardwood.

After clinching their division's state tournament in Midtown Raleigh on May 22, Triangle Flight players have their sights on a national championship in North Myrtle Beach July 12-17.

John Brown has long coached older players. He is director of Apex Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources and has spent time officiating at high school and college basketball games. Coaching Triangle Flight was his first experience with young, inexperienced players. He started last year, when the team was in the U10 division.

"In the beginning, they were not so good," Brown said. "But they improved and went on to nationals last year."

This year, most of the U10 kids are back in the older age group and enjoying success at an early age.

"I really like coaching little kids," Brown added. "It's fun to watch them progress."

The secret to coaching youngsters effectively is in the fundamentals, Brown said.

"A lot of AAU teams don't always focus on the fundamentals or prepare them to play in middle school and high school," Brown said. "We teach skills such as dribbling with each hand and man-to-man defense."

And his team has responded in a big way.

"These are very coachable kids who are smart, and they want to learn," Brown said. "The biggest surprise they gave me was how eager they are to please. Older kids in middle school and high school have had more exposure to playing, and it's hard to break bad habits."

Year-round play

Raleigh has played host to the USBA's North Carolina tournaments for six years, tournament director Don Ledford said. Ledford runs Coach Ledford Sports in Midtown Raleigh. He also coaches the Triangle Flight U17 team, which made it to the semifinals in the state tournament.

"When we first started, we had just 20 or 30 teams participating," Ledford said. "It has grown over the years, with teams coming from as far away as Cherokee, N.C."

This year, 95 teams from all over the state were in Raleigh during two weekends in mid-May to compete for glory and a berth in the national championships.

Andrew Bost, 17, is a rising senior at Enloe High School. He has played AAU for the past four years, but this year is his first with Ledford.

"AAU basketball is great," Bost said. "The tournaments are intense; it gives players a chance to keep playing all year, and it prepares us for the school year."

He also loves having a chance to play in front of college coaches. "Being noticed by a coach gives you confidence in your playing ability," he said.

Bost plays point guard and shooting guard. He also plays soccer and baseball at Enloe, but he is thinking about dropping the other sports to focus on basketball.

Moving on

David McAdams, 18, has played on Ledford's teams nearly his entire life. "I've been with Coach Ledford seven or eight years, and it's been a lot of fun," he said.

McAdams also plays point guard for Enloe and agrees with Bost, his teammate, that being on the Triangle Flight team has enhanced his high school basketball experience.

He is in his last year with the AAU program, and the thought of saying goodbye to players with whom he's shared team experiences makes him sad. "My teammates and I live in different parts of the Triangle. It's depressing to think I won't see them after this year," McAdams said.

For these athletes, rewards come one by one, in victories on the court; when they move on to varsity programs in high school and when college coaches notice them for the first time.

Their AAU coaches are left behind to shepherd another flock of talented youngsters through the ranks.

"Some kids are not so talented at first, but they work and work and make great strides," Brown said.

When those kids see success, that's the coach's reward.