I have the pleasure to bring to you a blog written by a local Coach that I have a tremendous amount of respect for.... He has been in this basketball industry for a very long time and he felt the need to speak on a few things.... Check it out and share your thoughts..... Coach Little
I first want to say that I respect and support anyone who is
doing something positive with kids and helping them reach their goals and
become better people. I don’t want to
give shout outs because I will miss someone and my intent is not to divide but
to bring folks together and there is always someone grinding that the masses no
nothing about.
I am strictly dealing with people who are helping our BOYS
become MEN at this time. Basketball is a beautiful thing and it has help me
foster relationships and bonds with people over my 40 years on this Earth that
I never thought I would have relationships with. Basketball has taken me from
16th and Naudain Street to Bishop McDevitt to New Mexico Junior
College to Kutztown University, so yes I LOVE this game.
The first hard lesson in life my father taught me was at age
10 when he told me,” NOTHING in life is FREE and the only people in this world
that do not want anything from you is ME and your MOM. Everyone else wants
something from you and it’s your decision and choice if you want to give and
how much you want to give”. He also told me when a man tells you he is about
the kids; he is lying because his actions will show you that. Those small pieces of advice have given me
clarity in tough times throughout my life. That advice and the other qualities and life
lessons my brothers and I learned played a vital role in my parents having
three sons receive athletic scholarships, two of whom were Division I football
players ( Penn State and Virginia Tech) and a Division II basketball player.
I preface this by saying again nothing in life is free so
those who train kids, provide AAU teams, run tournaments SHOULD be paid because
they are offering a service. Parents and kids must realize that this is an
investment in your kid’s future so you can’t expect a scholarship if you are
not willing to make your kid be the best student he/she can be, work daily on
your craft and not willing to sacrifice for your kid. The
other untruth that needs to stop being fed to kids is that you don’t need to
play AAU ball, if you are good you will be seen during the high school season.
That is a lie and a detrimental thing to tell a kid that has the TALENT and
AMBITION to play at the Division I and II levels of basketball. Kids and parents who may read this if you have
the opportunity to play in a CERTIFIED
event such as a Hoop Group, EYBL, Under Armour Association, Big Shot or Adidas
event please do. What is happening now is a travesty and shame because instead
of creating a situation that gives the kids of Central PA a chance to compete
and be successful on the regional and national stage we sends multiple teams
out on the circuit to be mediocre. The powers that be who are in charge of
making sure these kids are put in the right situations like the division and
chaos that happens with Central PA travel ball for one reason, so they can stay
in business BOTTOM line.
How can a small area have so many AAU teams and programs and
have the nerve to say we are putting kids in the best situation for their
futures. Yet these same people will scratch their heads or be flabbergasted
when a top notch kid from our area gets an opportunity to play for one of the
teams in the larger cities of Baltimore, DC or Philly and jump on it. How can
our area be doing what is best for kids when the organizers go to social media
and gossip to discredit the other organizations? But let me get this straight, we are about the kids correct?????????????????
I was fortunate to run Capital Athletic Basketball Program
from 1999-2006 and in that time period our program had over 25 kids play
Division I basketball, a host of others play Division II and III ball and a
host of others play Division I and II college football and a good number of
them were and continue to be blessed to have professional basketball and
football careers. We reached out and made it a regional success and had kids
from as far north as Williamsport, west to Johnstown, east to Lancaster and
south York County. Our goal was to grab the best 10-12 kids from this area in
each grade from 9-11th and go out and get kids scholarships. Ty Ward
and I reached out to high school and youth coaches and broke bread with them and
the families and people trusted us with their kids but more importantly with
their kid’s futures because we were above board and truly had the kid’s best
interest at heart.
I was also fortunate to be involved with a select group of girl’s
players last spring and summer and the purpose of the team was to give the top
or most of the top regional girls a chance to be successful on the AAU circuit.
It came about due to some disagreements, rifts and other craziness between
adults, not the kids but the adults who were charged with looking after the
best interest of the kids. It was a success as every girl on the team will play
college basketball and 4 of the 10 received full D1 scholarships. What I didn’t
know was that I walked into a bunch of back biting, arrogant, petty nonsense
between three organizations who again are charged with helping kids. I heard of
threats of lawsuits, allegations of mismanagement and just straight
foolishness. So again the adults who are charged with and volunteer to put
themselves in the lives of the kids bring more drama and, bias and headache to
the situation than the kids ever did.
I will be the first to say we need to get the leaders
together and sit down and map out a plan to help the AREA and not an
organization. I know everyone will not buy in and some will continue to operate
as they currently do, but I know that there are kids and parents who want
better and want more for their kids, there are also a ton of good people and
coaches ready to take this thing back over and do right by our kids in the area
and because of that and the fact I have a 10 year old son who loves basketball
I am bringing myself to the forefront to help, not lead, be the chief or in
charge but just to HELP!
PEACE
Dwan Lee
717-421-6232
Coachdlee12@gmail.com
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