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  Hoop Masters Basketball Academy 2007-2008HMBA Overview The HMBA is high-level basketball instruction and competition on a year round basis. The HMBA feeds our travel team program for those participants who are interested in traveling team basketball. If you are not interested in traveling team basketball, the HMBA is still for you. Click on the following links to find out more about the HMBA and our Travel Team program. Here is what the HMBA offers for the participant:
Here is what the HMBA offers for parents:
Is this a league or just clinics? Yes! While we don't have the kind of rigid and predictable scheduling like the park leagues, we are playing games or having team scrimmages/practices every weekend. Some weekends your son or daughter might play 1, 2 or 3 games. There will be other weekends where your son or daughter attends a practice and does not have a game. Over the course of the year, there will be plenty of games to play. What about park leagues or the Y? Every park is different, so we can't be sure. But what we can tell you that other than playing for school teams (which we regard as important), we discourage any kind of basketball environment - be it camps, clinics or leagues, that does not challenge and instruct your child. We work hard to erase bad habits and tendencies in our players. If your local park league permits your child to be successful using those bad habits, it makes the development cycle longer for your child. But what about the travel teams? We have them and in fact, we consider the HMBA the best vehicle for assembling teams that can compete at a high level. There are pitfalls associated with the standard model of Tryout-Form a Team-Practice-Compete. If you read our travel team questionnaire (under boys or girls travel teams) you can see what some of those pitfalls are. There are also benefits with joining a team and playing together as a unit. But we feel the pitfalls outweigh the benefits. The pitfalls are that players become stuck in one position and typically do not get a full exposure to the game. Tall players play by the basket and unless they can already function like a guard, it usually doesn't fit the immediate needs of the team to teach taller players how to be a guard. This works in reverse as well. Small players need to know how to post up too! Reducing our emphasis on having a winning AAU team and putting it back on player development is the best choice for your child in the long run. It guarantees your son or daughter will get both a well rounded perspective on the game plus individual skill development and conceptual awareness at every position on the floor. Our approach is more fluid, giving us the opportunity to see different combinations of players - even across age groups - on regular basis. This keeps everything fresh and challenging. If we have a group of 9s, 10s or 11s, etc. that are tournament ready, great - they will enter the tournament as a team. But part of what will help them be more successful as a team was working through the different team situations they experienced along the way as individuals. What about the AAU Regionals and Nationals? For those who want it, we are going! Provided of course, we have committed players and parents and the resources to make it happen. Past players can always recall their experiences at AAU tournaments, especially the trips to the National Championships. We have been successful in AAU competition and will continue to compete. What are the levels? Note that we use the levels below as general guidelines. The flexibility of the HMBA format allows us to move players up or down on both a short term and permanent basis. Changes in our level structure effective 09/01/06:
For girls, it's age as of 01/01/06
How do I find out the schedule? How much does it cost? Each level will offer different degrees of participation and cost. Participants can come one night during the week, one weeknight and Saturday, or two weeknights and Saturday. Check out our web calendar for our practice and game schedule. Private lessons and small group workouts will be available on some afternoons during the week as well as Sunday afternoons. Questions? Contact John Fischer for details at jgreen@hoopmasters.org. Ready to sign up? Hoop Masters Basketball AcademyNo matter what your basketball interest are, there is a place for you at the Hoop Masters basketball Academy. The Academy is set up to provide quality instruction to all participants and is also geared towards providing a fun outlet for exercise and competition. The Academy is set up for 3 different types of Academy in One. Players Academy: This program is designed to make you a better overall player and to prepare you for AAU and High School basketball. The workouts are rigorous and require commitment and discipline. FUN First Recreational Academy: This section is players who just want to work on their fundamentals and also have some fun in the process. This is an excellent program for those players who want to get better to play on their middle school and grammar school teams, or in a recreation league. Players are encouraged to work on their skills and will be better prepared for their upcoming season. We will also have limited opportunities for local tournaments and games. Fitness Academy: Are you trying to get your son or daughter away from the Xbox and more active? The Academy is a great place to start. Basketball is a great sport for conditioning and physical activity. The goal here is on taking inactive kids and encouraging them to become more active. (for more info and sign-up, click here.) |
