Year Round Basketball

The seasons have changed since I played the game. Legislation allows college coaches to train our athletes 8 weeks during the summer. Practices start the beginning of October rather than the traditional October 15th back in the day. College teams play at minimum, 30 games a year so when is the off season? For those of us who love basketball this seems like a dream come true but when it drizzles down to our youth programs, I am not so sure. Junior high is now playing travel ball, and the challenge now kids face is when they HAVE to start playing to keep up. As a kid, I grew up in the mountains of Swiss Village 20 or so miles out of the town of Carbondale, Colorado. I recall having a ball in my hands most of the day, or tree jumping, navigating the forest and doing plenty of tick checks with my older brother. Whether it was winter where we went 20+ miles down the hills on tubes until we ran home with bloody faces, or the summer where we played capture the flag and ran home when I lost to my brother, the last thing on my mind was playing travel ball every weekend because it didn't exist. Later on when we put a hoop in our driveway my time shifted to 1 on 1 games, shooting, and evenings spent working on my shot. My choices were my choices and I thank my parents for that. I feel like our generation today is in a catch 22. Starting travel ball so young seems to put athletes at risk for chronic injuries or burnout. However, kids who don't start competing with these teams may not have the confidence to play when they get a littler older. Perspective and knowledge are key so I choose the perspective that it's a great opportunity that kids now have with the knowledge that I don't want my kids to burn out or over train their bodies. So, my answer is go tubing and wait until Justin and Brooklyn ask me to go shoot at the park! That's what my family did this weekend anyway. Coach Bin