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Traveling Myths

Travel Basketball Myths

MYTH:  You will spend the entire weekend, from November to March, at tournaments.

FACT:   Traditionally tournaments have been 2 days with a minimum of 3 games per weekend.  But more associations are running 1-day tournaments, where the team would play all of their games on either Saturday or Sunday. For 4th-8th grade, there are 9 weekend tournaments between November 1st and March 15th.

MYTH:  'Traveling' means we will be going to tournaments that are fifty or more miles from home.

FACT:  A majority of the tournaments we participate in take place around the south metro.  There is typically one overnight tournament per season in Brainard, otherwise overnight tournaments are rare.

MYTH:  Only the highest level players are allowed to play and develop.

FACT:  All players are given the opportunity to develop their game due to balanced playing time, teams at A, B, and C levels, and access to various team and individual development opportunities.

MYTH:  The teams are decided based on the previous years teams.

FACT:  All players participate in an impartial and fair tryout process prior to each season.

MYTH:  Practices occur every night and usually last for several hours.

FACT:  Typically, teams practice two (sometimes three) nights per week with each practice lasting around 1 to 1.5 hours.

MYTH: If I sign up to be a head coach candidate, the team selection committee might put my kid on a team without a head coach candidate, rather than place my kid based on how the kid did at tryouts.

FACT: Teams are not made around who is available to coach. Teams are formed at A, B, and C levels, largely based on talent evaluations at tryouts. If three coach candidates apply and all three kids end up on Team A, the highest rated head coach candidate is selected to coach that team and the B and C teams will need a parent to volunteer to be the head coach.

MYTH: My kid's team played C level tournaments last year and did very well. Now the team is not very good playing in B level tournaments. They have regressed.

FACT: Teams are typically placed into tournaments top down -- meaning if there are 3 teams per grade, we place the top team in the A tournament, second team in the B tournament, and third team in the C tournament. If there are 2 teams, we typically place the top team in the A tournament and the second team in the B tournament.  

The jump from C to B to A level is significant and we want our teams to play at the highest corresponding level in each grade, rather than drop down a level in a tournament.

An average to below average A team will likely make the championship game in a B level tournament.  Same for when a B team enters into a C tournament. Dropping down to win more games does not necessarily mean the players are doing better or improving.