WHAT IS AAU?
AAU basketball organization (club) teams are generally made up of players from across multiple communities/school districts in the area (typically pulling from Travel league players); teams are formed via competitive try outs, and playing time is not guaranteed or necessarily even for those who are offered a roster spot on a team. Age/grade levels vary, but can start as early as 4th grade with most AAU clubs typically operating in the spring and, in some cases, extending in to mid summer. Most teams compete primarily in regional tournaments - sometimes in nearby states requiring overnight travel - specifics can depend on the organization.
Costs vary by organization and can be significant, ranging from several hundred dollars and up, not including travel expenses to tournaments. Time commitments can be significant and for many clubs, particularly at the higher levels, this is viewed as a primary commitment over other sports.
It is important to note that player experiences can vary materially across clubs and even grade levels/teams within clubs - dependent on quality of coaching and playing time, which are difficult to predict in advance.
SHOULD MY DAUGHTER PLAY/TRY OUT?
The decision to play AAU is an individual one for each family to make based on their situation. For a majority of younger players, the best use of time, money, and energy is in individual skills development and off season work - either on their own or augmented with camps/training. For more advanced and older players, AAU can afford additional development above that individual skills work via additional instruction and higher practice and game competition levels. Participation should also be weighed against other sport commitments.
The SFGBA is not directly associated with any particular AAU organization. Links listed below are solely so that parents have a starting place to learn more about these organizations. Participation in AAU basketball is NOT REQUIRED for any SFGBA players nor should parents feel is it necessary path to develop their daughter's playing skills.
AREA AAU ORGANIZATION LINKS (In Alphabetical Order. Coaches, please notify us of others to add to this list)
Basketball Stars of America
CTS AAU
Chaos AAU
Drill4Skill AAU
SLAAM AAU (merged with 3 Rivers Swish in fall 2018, and Scoring Factory in fall 2019)
Legendz Athletic (formarly SMAC)
StealCity AAU
WPA Bruins (merged with Metro AAU in fall 2018)
AAU TRYOUT INFORMATION (Spring 2020 Tryouts Start in Dec/Jan)
WPA Bruins - Tryouts on January 4, 5, 11 (Registration now open)
BSA South Hills - Tryouts Starting on January 19 (Registration now open)
Drill4Skill - Tryouts On Jan 19, 26, Feb 3 (Registration now open)
SLAAM - Tryouts on Jan 1, 4, 12 (Registration now open)
Legends - Tryouts on Jan 18 & 26