Here is the way it works now. Go to a high school and not play much. Then blame the coaches, school and teammates. It’s a drill that is being repeated too often these days and is becoming the norm. Choose a high school not because it’s a good school and fits a child needs. No some kids along with there parents pick a school they think promises playing time, points and attention. These are things a kid should earn not be given. Then when none of these things Materialize… THEY TRANSFER. Now this is not player issue this is a parental issue and it getting worse by the day.
High school coaches jobs are becoming more and more difficult. That’s because more and more parents are making it hard for players to develop relationships with there coaches. When a kid is unhappy in most cases it’s do to playing time. The parents blame the coach and refuse to let the player go though the process of figuring things out. Now some people will blame the AAU culture of kids expecting to play regardless of performance. This is not how I feel and I will tell you why. Most kids who don’t play in high school do not deserve to play. That’s because the ones who don’t play in most cases are simply not good enough or don’t work hard enough. They often play and train in weak environments. They often are protected by there parents along the way. If you give them truth, what do they say? You like other kids more or do not like there child. It’s the quickest way for a coach to ruin a relationship. These parents in most cases surround there children with non truth tellers. The coach becomes the Enemy and the school becomes a target.
There have been a few kids in my opinion that maybe deserved to play and for some reason as freshman did not. I thought Katie Collins should have played more as a freshman and sophomore. But her coach who coaches her everyday disagreed. She must have known something because she is off to U PENN. I though Sophie Smith should have played more this past season. But Joe Montano stood by his struggling senior. Right now, Sophie Smith has more D1 offers than she can count. Both players parents trusted there children’s coaches and did not run for the hills. They certainly had to be disappointed their kid did not play more. But want do I know about these kids? Both these kids have something in common. A real appetite for coaching, training, playing against Elite competition and there parents seek truth. Isn’t it funny some parents don’t understand this and why there kids are runners.
Now there are always legitimate reasons kids leave a school. The education, social issues and of course opportunity to play. But here is the problem. When kids transfer they never say these words “I AM NOT TALENTED ENOUGH” or “I just don’t fit here” maybe they want to play against better competition. All valid reasons for a kid to transfer. But nope it starts with excuses and talking negative about the school, ex teammates and coaches. Many of these same kids will change AAU TEAMS multiple times. It’s been part of there excuses along the way, long before they arrived at there high school and will most likely continue throughout there career in most cases. But you must remember in 95% of the cases it is a parent issue not a child issue. Parents worry about silly ranking, laughable scouts evaluations and meaningless attention. Kids just want to play basketball. They understand sometimes they may have to roll with the ups and downs. They come to realize in the end the tears and disappointments make the journey so much more Appreciative and memorable. The problem is parents never understand how strong there kids really are. They are constantly trying to create or find the perfect environment just for their kids. What they don’t understand is these things must be developed not Manufactured.
SJV is getting a big time transfer. I’m not sure why she is leaving her current school. I know there will be rumors, it part of the drill. But here is what I know as a fact. The dad and kid badly wanted to attend SJV two years ago. Circumstances which I won’t go into prevented it. But now her dream has come true and she is at the school she always wanted to attend. She is a gym rat of gym rats and is well known and well liked around the shore. Her father would drop her off at NBS and disappear. He did not make excuses for her or complain. He allowed his daughter to make mistakes and grow. Now she is one of the best players in the state. His daughter is transferring for all the right reasons and she and her parents are not leaving a trail of dead bodies behind them walking out the front door. There are no excuses being made and nobody is pointing a finger or blaming anyone …. MORE PARENTS SHOULD TRY IT!
CAMP DATES… 1st one up CORE SKILLS👍🏀
https://twitter.com/HoopGroupHQ/status/1661351836605980678?s=20