Classics Basketball

Our mission is to teach young athletes to play basketball at a highly competitive level. We believe in giving them a firm foundation in the many individual skills required to be a strong basketball player. Equally important, our coaches teach their players to use these skills effectively as a team. Of utmost importance in achieving our mission for our youth members is that we focus on the development of our youth members as individuals and as a team. The Classics AAU Basketball Club program emphasizes three core principles - teamwork, character development, and personal fitness - to achieve the mission. As a member of the Potomac Valley Athletic Amateur Union (PVAAU), we also 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 12th grades for boys and girls) starting with 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.

Studentvolunteers will have opportunities to assist in tryouts, league game operations, and/or training clinics. For tryouts, this entails helping with set up and to manage the event registration table, collect and account for fees from participants, assist with facility set up and clean up, and check in participants to ensure they have the proper application forms and materials, For league game operations, volunteers will be assigned to run the concession stand if one is set up, run the game clock/scoring unit and/or keep the score book as well as help with gym set up and clean up. Some knowledge of how to score the game of basketball and/or run a scoring unit is needed and the minimum age for being a the scorers table is 15. For helping with clinics and/or coaching, volunteers need to have a pretty solid basketball skill level and knowledge of the game with some basketball playing experience typically travel team and high school varsity or JV team experience, and must know how to teach younger participants generally 5th grade or younger the fundamentals of basketball. Generally clinic.team coach volunteers need to be at least 13 years of age and be able to demonstrate their basketball skills/knowledge of the game