Classics AAU Basketball Club
Information for Parents and Players
September, 2022
Classics Basketball is a registered, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation which has been promoting select AAU basketball in the Washington, D.C. area since 1981. It is an all-volunteer organization with a volunteer president and board of directors/operating committee and holds an annual meeting which is open to all members plus monthly and quarterly board/operating committee meetings. Classics Basketball is a member of the Potomac Valley Amateur Athletic Union (PVAAU) District, and the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) which has supported a variety of amateur sports since 1875. Classics Basketball provides opportunities for higher level sports programs for its members who are young athletes, ages 7-18 that are in grades 1-12, and promotes opportunities for our area youth to develop and grow their character, leadership, mental and physical fitness capabilities.
As a member of the Potomac Valley Athletic Amateur Union (PVAAU), we subscribe to the mission and vision of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU): “To offer amateur sports programs through a volunteer base for all people to have the physical, mental, and moral development of amateur athletes and to promote good sportsmanship and good citizenship. To offer amateur athletes volunteer opportunities to develop to their highest level through a national and local network of sporting events. Through participation in AAU, we achieve our dreams as athletes and as valued citizens of our communities.”
Classics Basketball supports up to two to three girls and boys teams in each age group (3rd to 11th grades for boys girls) starting with 1st/2nd grade players in developmental clinic programs, and going through high school, up to age 18 (For official AAU age group definitions, please see www.aaugirlsbasketball.org or www.aauboysbasketball.org). Teams are formed or assessed mainly two times a year – in early September with player evaluations or tryouts for the Fall-Winter season and in early March at tryouts for the Spring-Summer AAU season.
The current grade division eligibility rules for boys and girls basketball are the same and can be found on the AAU websites noted above. In simple terms the grade division for an athlete is their grade as of October 1 of the current AAU program year (Sep 1, YY-1 to Aug 31, YY). There are maximum age limits where a player may be no older as of August 31, YY than a specific age and players who may be academically accelerated may play in what might be considered their natural age grade depending on their birthdate. For more details on the specific eligibility rules for your child please see the AAU websites above and select the Eligibility tab.
By joining the AAU through the Classics Basketball AAU club, individual players and teams are provided with insurance coverage for practices and games and are eligible to play in the PVAAU Spring Regional tournament, usually in April/May, which qualifies teams for the AAU National Championship tournaments in June/July. Classics Basketball maintains a website to provide players and families with important information about our team program and expectations, clinics, tournaments, leagues and tryouts at www.classicsbasketball.com. Please visit it often to keep current on happenings in the club, performance of our teams, and the AAU basketball world
About TRYOUTS:
Classics Basketball holds tryouts twice a year, in the Spring and Fall, and players already on teams must try out each time. There is NO guarantee that a player on a team would make the team at the next season’s tryouts. However, players participating on a Classics or other AAU club team in general would have an advantage over most others due to the practices and competitions each team participates in. In general, about 90% of returning players are likely to make a team, but there is NO GUARANTEE. At the end of each season and before the next season’s tryouts, each team head coach will generally provide each team member a “report card” or feedback with suggestions for improvements and reminders to “bring their A game” to tryouts. Tryouts for each age group are run by the “A” or “National”* team coach and include drills in ball-handling, shooting, defense, running as well as scrimmages.
The players' skills, effort, behavior, and attitude are important factors that coaches consider in making their selections for the team. Existing team coaches hold the tryouts for their age group and if enough players qualify, a new team may be formed at the tryouts. The "A" or “National”* team is the most competitive team in each age group. The "B" team is the second team in each age group, and some grade divisions depending on tryout turnout may have a "C" or developmental team formed. The "A" team is selected first, then the "B" team and then if appropriate, the developmental team. The “A” team coach gets first choice among all the players at tryouts to fill the “A” team. The “B” team coach gets second choice, and so on until all coaches have chosen their teams. It is rare to have the quality and numbers of players at a tryouts to support a third competitive team. If there are sufficient numbers of players, Classics often will form and support a developmental team program in particular grade divisions. For players who do not make a Classics Basketball team at tryouts, we do hold developmental clinics in the Fall, Winter, and Spring, where players can continue to develop their skills. Sometimes this is done through a third party skills development group such as Harding Hoops, Ness Basketball, Brad Pinchback Basketball, or Nuttin But Net Basketball. Also, many players on our teams or those wishing to improve their individual skills do so outside of team practices by individual workouts with our coaches or participating in a separate training program such as those just mentioned. The Player Development program info is posted on the Classics website on the Player Development page with information of costs and schedules for these various training programs Classics supports.
Classics Basketball teams are for the above-average to exceptional player who will make Classics Basketball’s AAU team their highest priority over other sports. If, for reasons of other activity time commitments or geography, a particular player does not wish to be on the “A” team, the player or her parents may ask the “B” coach about openings on the roster, and if that coach is willing, the player can join that team.
*NOTE: Classics Basketball’s use of the term “National team” is reserved for teams who have successfully qualified for, and have attended and played in the AAU Division 1 National Championships and placed in the Top 25 nationally, otherwise the most competitive team in an age group is considered the A team. Other organizations who list their teams as “National” teams may not really have a team qualified to use that title properly per Classics Basketball’s policy for use of such a description.
About COMMITMENT:
Participation on a Classics Basketball AAU club team demands a big time commitment from coaches, players and their families. In the fall and winter, teams in the 8th grade and younger typically practice once or twice a week for 90 minutes to 2 hours each session. Teams may practice two or three times a week in the Spring in preparation for the PV AAU District tournament to qualify for the AAU Nationals at either the Division 1, 2, or 3 level. Teams may enter other tournaments and/or leagues that are scheduled on the weekends. There are fall leagues and tournaments for all age groups. During the fall and winter, high school age boys and girls are playing on their school teams but Classics does run a fall High School player practice program on Saturday afternoons typically to help our high school players get prepared for their high school tryouts in min November.
Classics Basketball teams with middle school age kids and younger generally play in the Montgomery County Recreation Department Rising Star League, an elite level AAU or High School league such as the Potomac Valley Basketball League (www.pvbl.org), or some other league. The spring season consists of weekend tournaments, jamborees, and games against other teams which lead up to the PVAAU District tournament. The Potomac Valley AAU District Tournaments are in the mid April through mid May time period and the National AAU tournament is in the summer (if the team qualifies at the District or a Super-regional event). AAU Nationals generally start in late June for the younger age groups and continue until late July/early August. Also, our high school age group teams often participate in NCAA sanctioned exposure or showcase events in July each summer. The AAU National tournaments schedule is posted at the AAU website – aaugirlsbasketball.org or aauboysbasketball.org … and throughout the year, there is practice!
We expect for each athlete that family, religious, and school-related events will get the priority, and we request that such events be communicated to the coach(es) and team manager(s) well in advance so that practices, tournaments, etc., can be planned accordingly, given that the team may be missing your child that day.
While we encourage our club members to participate in other sports such as soccer, lacrosse, cross country, track, baseball, etc. to develop their overall athletic abilities and capacity, our AAU program is an elite, higher level, “travel” team program and parents and athletes must really be careful not to be overcommitted to multiple teams, leagues, etc., especially if also trying to play on another higher level sport besides Classics Basketball such as a WAGSL or NCSL soccer club team. Two such sports combined will be taxing on most families both time and money-wise, and will really put added physical and mental stress on the athlete.
While we do not mandate that parents and players NOT do that, we have seen where such demanding higher level youth sports has led to injuries and ultimately youth, who before they even get to high school, give up on sports and healthy lifestyle choices due to the pressures the sports (and often their parents) have imposed and the lack of time to have fun as a kid. That said we encourage our youth to play on their middle school sports teams and recreational level programs for other sports. When there is a conflict, our Classics Basketball coaches will expect the Classics Basketball event to get the priority over all other sports-related activities, including attendance at college or professional sports events. Also each Classics team is expected to volunteer to support our participation in the Montgomery County Adopt-A-Road cleanup program for our section of along Randolph Road.
Team Management:
Classics Basketball teams and the club works best when the coach coaches, and parents communicate and take on the administrative responsibilities of the team and if interested at the club level to help run tournaments, leagues, or clinics and with administrative stuff such as maintaining our website and helping with sponsorships and fundraising. At the team level, this includes a team manager(s) and/or treasurer to collect and disburse funds, and others to take the lead for uniforms, equipment, entering tournaments, as well as providing a team accounting report. In addition, help is needed securing practice times at gyms, and setting up the team communication “tree.” Some teams even have established their own team website within the classicsbasketball.com website.
Coaches are all volunteers and are selected based on their desire to coach and support their players growth and development. Coaches resumes and references are reviewed and assessed by the President and other club coaches. Also before getting officially involved with a team, a coach must (1) obtain their AAU membership which includes a background check thru Lexis-Nexis by the AAU National Office, and (2) complete the Classics AAU Basketball multi-agency background check using our Intellicorp Inc volunteer screening portal. Within 24-48 hours, this checks local, regional, national and international systems on all of our volunteers through the Intellicorp-Classics volunteer portal - https://classicsbb.volunteerportal.net.
Any anomalies even speeding tickets within 7 years are reported and any issues are reviewed with each prospective coach before they are accepted or rejected as a club coach.
About COSTS:
This section discusses the costs that a player/family may incur as a member of a Classics Basketball AAU club team. With over 30 years of operating experience, Classics Basketball has established standard budgets for each season for A, B, and developmental teams, and we encourage each team to use these budgets and the events and activities associated with the budget plans. Each player-family will be required to make the financial commitment to support the team’s plans including fundraising events to help offset individual costs. Costs will consist of club dues, AAU membership, uniforms, gym time, tournaments, leagues, coaching expenses, including travel reimbursements, supplies such as first aid items and training equipment.
Dues: Dues for Classics club members are $60 for each season (Fall-Winter and Spring-Summer). AAU registration of players is $16 per year. The Classics dues covers some of the administrative expenses for registering the club with the AAU each year, website hosting and domain registrations, and liability insurance, trading pins and banners for teams going to nationals, scholarship fund development, replacement AAU basketballs and pinnies for teams (each team is provided by the club with at least 6-10 AAU Rawlings Basketballs and Nike ball bags to hold their team gear), club coach polo shirts for coaches, and other team support items including first aid supplies and supplementing Player Development clinic costs. Individual team expenses which are divided among the players also include uniforms, gym time, tournament and league fees, coaching expenses for travel and training, first aid supplies beyond the kits the club supplies, outside clinics, additional player and fan gear ordered through the club.
Our fee may seem higher than some other AAU organizations because Classics does not sponsor a multitude of fundraising tournaments which its teams are expected to enter and at which their parents are expected to work. Our seasonal dues was reduced in August, 2011, after a few seasons at $75 due to reducing our overhead expenses. Also, registered club players are able to drop-in to any Classics run clinics or skill programs at a significantly reduced rate like $10/session for many of our in-house clinic programs. Also we offer 2 -3 times per year specialized skills clinics by professional experts in shooting, ball handling and conditioning. These sessions typically cost about $40-60 for a full day of training.
Uniforms: New team members will need uniforms. There is one main reversible uniform design used by allof our teams These uniforms are made by a sublimation process and will last a long time if cared for properly. Sublimation means that numbers and graphics are inherent to the fabric and will not fade, tear or peel off like many other uniforms your athlete may have had. Simple care instructions for these uniforms are to wash in cold water with Woolite or some other mild detergent and air/hang dry the set indoors. Because they are a specialized moisture management fabric, they dry very quickly. They should not be put in a heated automatic dryer or dried in direct sunlight. High temperature and excessive UV sunlight exposure will cause the materials to degrade over time. Also, permanent markers and paint will cause stains and should be kept away from the material, but food, dirt and other stains will come out easily because of the yarn design.
Because of the durable design, the reversible uniform set currently (since Sept 2017) costs $120. If a player outgrows their uniform, a larger size uniform will be provided at NO additional cost to the player. If a player leaves the Classics team, the uniform can be returned for a $40 refund IF the uniform is in good condition that can be reused. We realize that this cost may be a factor in a family’s decision to have their athlete(s) play on our teams, and thus we have upsize option to reduce up long term costs and allow for balancing cash flow considerations for our members’ families, especially as our athletes grow and require a larger size uniform. Please see the Classics website for the details of the Uniform Agreement.
For some of the younger/first year teams, there is a basic reversible style uniform that runs about $65 per player There is no turn in/refund fee for those uniforms but some may be returned/exchanged for a small refund/credit fee (typically $25 or less depending on the condition of the uniform).
Competitions: Individual teams may decide to enter tournaments or leagues which have fees that are shared by each player. Tournament costs vary from about $250-$450 and sometimes an admission fee is charged by the host organization.
Costs for practice gym time and equipment are also shared by the team and hourly rates vary from about $17-$70/hour depending on the gym owner.
The typical individual player assessment is a function of the competitive level of the team - A, B, or Developmenal, the number of practices/week the team holds, the number of tournaments and leagues entered and where these events are, clinics and camps, and other events. Coaches volunteer their time and teams also budget funds to cover travel expenses for the coaches for those teams that travel out of the DC area.
Typical seasonal player costs for team players vary and can range from $300-700 for the fall-winter season and $300-1200 for the spring-summer season depending on the teams level - A, B or Developmental and the level of their participation in tournament and AAU or other national level events. An highly competitive team that might play in 16 tournaments between March 15 and Aug 1 would have a higher cost than a team that might only play in a spirng and summer league and do only 1-2 tournaments. At the end of the season, if there are left over funds, the manager/treasurer will provide credits where applicable.
Donations and Fundraising: Since Classics Basketball is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, a donation letter is available from the president for any donations or fundraising activities an individual or team pursues to help offset team and/or individual player costs. Classics Basketball also participates in the escrip.com fundraising program and registered users who select Classics Basketball as the charitable organization will have small percentages of their online purchases at the escrip.com online mall and other associated businesses to be credited to Classics Basketball and ultimately to support their team. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the Club does pursue sponsorships and funding from organizations and individuals. There is a Donors/Sponsor page on our website with more information. This charitable giving is used to provide individual scholarship based on financial need, support teams where needed for travel and national tournament entry fees and costs, and establish a stock of tournament uniforms for the rental option.
What CLASSICS Basketball Can Do For Young Athletes:
Girls and boys who play basketball at this select AAU level will improve their own skill level through coaching, practice and competition. Girls and boys who develop their ability through CLASSICS become the leading players on their high school teams. Through our program, we intend to develop not only basketball skills, but also individual character, morals, and physical and mental fitness. We support our coaches and parents in the development of important lifelong core values of teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, personal discipline, time management, honesty, and respect.
Contacts:
President, Director of Operations – Andy Stadnik – 301-706-6902
Classics Basketball
5705 Mossrock Drive
Rockville, MD 20852
