If you have been around the game of basketball as a player, a coach or a spectator, you have probably heard of AAU Basketball. You will often hear about many college and NBA players who played and dominated in AAU basketball.
Players such
If you have been around the game of basketball as a player, a coach or a spectator, you have probably heard of AAU Basketball. You will often hear about many college and NBA players who played and dominated in AAU basketball.
Players such as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Lebron James played AAU basketball. In fact, the majority of NBA players have spent at least some time playing AAU basketball. The exception to this rule are usually international players who did not grow up in the United States.
If so many top-level basketball players have played AAU basketball, then we can probably assume that this is an important part of becoming an elite basketball player. So, what is AAU Basketball? And why is it so important to up and coming players?
History of the AAU
The American Athletic Union (AAU) was started back in 1888. It was founded by James E. Sullivan with the goal of creating common standards in amateur sports. The AAU oversees national championships of most amateur sports including basketball, and was also a leader in international sports and they have been the representative for the United States in almost all international amateur sports federations.
The AAU has also had a history of working closely with the Olympics. They were crucial in helping prepare amateur athletes for the Olympics. As part of their involvement, they introduced the AAU Junior Olympics in 1949. The Junior Olympics were created for athletes in certain sports from ages 8 to 16 and many top athletes have appeared in these games which still take place annually.
Not long after basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891, the AAU took oversight of amateur YMCA basketball. The AAU held its first Men’s National Basketball Championship in 1897 which was won by the 23rd Street YMCA from New York City.
In 1926 the AAU held its first women’s basketball tournament. The first women’s tournament started with six teams and was played at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Pasadena Athletic & Country Club Flying Rings won the tournament.
In the 1970s the AAU began receiving criticism for some of its outdated practices and the fact that it still did not allow women in some sports. The AAU also started to lose influence in the Olympics when the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 began to organize the United States Olympic Committee and independent associations called national governing bodies were created for each Olympic sport.
The AAU began to lose more influence in the Olympics when the Olympics began to allow professional athletes to begin competing. Even though many of the AAU sports began to lose popularity and influence, AAU basketball has continued to hold strong and attract the best young players in the game.
AAU basketball as well as the AAU as a whole, has regained strength and popularity for young athletes. After the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, the AAU started focusing on providing sports to all participants of all ages and came up with the motto “Sports for all, forever”. The AAU now has almost 700,000 participants and 150,00 volunteers.
AAU basketball is a league or organization in which independent groups of amateur players form teams to compete in tournaments that are governed and run by the AAU. These are organized teams that are separate from and have no affiliation with any schools. They really can be made up of any players that want to get together and be on the same team.
The AAU allows boys and girls to play in different age groups from ages 7 to 19. Although there are tournaments played throughout the year, the main AAU season normally goes