AAU Circuit 101

PSA for parents who are looking to potentially try out for a club team and/or switch teams.

If the team's name isn't associated with one of these abbreviations or you have to pay to play IT IS NOT A SHOE TEAM.

Nike: EYBL

Under Armor: The Association and Rise

Adidas: 3SSB

Puma: Pro16 League

Elite shoe circuit: These are limited in number by the three circuits (Nike, Adidas, Under Armor) with each having about 24 team's total. Their calendars are anchored by exclusive events happening during NCAA DI evaluation periods. These teams are generally put together on an invite-only basis and by this time of year their rosters are 80% locked. These teams also get prime draws and courts at open (non-shoe circuit eval events) which means DI coaches are on the baseline.

Elite non shoe circuit: Since shoe circuits limit their teams there are also quite a few independent clubs that have elite teams that will get prime draws and courts at non-shoe events. They are just locked out of the shoe events. There are generally independent events in the same cities as the shoe events where these clubs play so college coaches can hit multiple events in one trip.

Second tier elite: Shoe circuit clubs and independent clubs have a group of lower tier teams and usually one of those is not quite elite but is close. For Nike and Under Armor their events don't have a place for these teams so they will play exclusively independent events. Adidas has a "Gold" level at their events so the second-tier teams have a place to play. Independent clubs will bring their second-tier team to the same eval events and put them in a lower bracket where they can still get some exposure.

National Club: This is where it starts to get a little shady in my opinion. This is the level where most clubs are just taking your money. Shoe and independent clubs have teams at this level. You pay full price to be on the team, $1,000 - $2,000, plus you have to cover travel expenses, do fundraisers, pay extra fees. Yes, these teams get to national level eval events, but they are generally on a terrible draw playing at the back of the gym or alternate site with zero coaches sitting on the baselines. These teams exist to cover the cost of the higher-level teams as often the top team in club is full scholarship. National teams are also often too big with 12+ players.

Regional Club: These teams play a mix of local and regional events that they can drive to and generally don't require a hotel stay. Unless you are in Las Vegas, Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta, DMV, or a few other locations these teams aren't playing at important Eval events and if they are, they are on courts/draws that aren't getting looks. This is purely developmental. If the price isn't too high it's a good place to be in 7-10 grade if you aren't a clear D1 prospect but maybe have your sights on D2, 3, NAIA. Avoid coaches that over-hype the looks you get at this level. Larger clubs with Elite teams often have teams at this level as well. In that context these functions as a developmental team for the upper-level teams in the organization.

Local Club: Purely developmental teams that play in local events and leagues. Generally, not playing in events that have college coaches attending. Focus is on skill development and making your high school team

Dad team: A "club" with one team coached by a player's dad who didn't like the local or regional club and thought they could do better. Effectively a local club but lacking a pipeline to higher level teams. Avoid this.

Recreation Club: Your local rec league at the rec center or YMCA. Not somewhere you should be if you're in middle school or older and seriously thinking about playing at some college level.

So which level should you play on? Everyone wants to play at that elite level but not everyone is at that level. Even players that can and will play D1 ball don't necessarily need to be on an elite shoe team. There are about 1,000 scholarships at D1 level (Men and Women) every year and those elite levels have less players in each class than that so don't think being on that team is do or die. Plus, those teams often have players headed to D2 and below.

I'd also like to point out that playing college ball at any level (D1, 2, 3 or NAIA) is a fantastic experience and a four-year D2, 3 or NAIA player would come to your local pickup game and completely light up your gym. They are good players.

To simplify I'll break them down to three groups: national, regional, local.

National: (Elite, Non-shoe elite, 2nd tier elite) You should only play on a team that travels nationally if you are personally invited to be on the team or personally invited to try out. These teams will discover players at early season varsity tournaments so by now you should have already heard from them if they like you. If you have to shop yourself to a national level team, you're probably not ready. If you do sign up for a lesser team there should be zero reason to do any overnight travel for events that are not during evaluation periods in major cities. For boys it's rare for Sophomore and below to be invited to these team. Occasionally I'll see an 8th grade girl who is ready for this level.

Regional: Are you a starter for your school team regardless of level but not yet getting invites to elite clubs? This is likely the level of team to be looking at. Price will be a consideration, coaching style, and practice/event schedule but the main thing I like to tell players is do not waste time on a team with more than 10 players. There is no point in paying money to sit on the bench. 8 or 9 players is ideal and 11 is a no go. You're here to get minutes.

Local: This is the place to be if you're looking to develop your game so pick a team that practices often. This is the place to be if you come off the bench for your school team and you're looking to get into the starting lineup. The key here is getting hours in the gym and minutes in games. My favorite local clubs are the ones that have access to their own gym(s).