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PostPosted: 04 Feb 2020, 11:48 

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My daughter is in her final month of her first varsity basketball season and it has gone very well. She has been playing basketball and AAU basektball every year since 5th grade. She only plays one sport and does some sort of basketball training all year. This year we were considering do track instead of AAU. Her AAU season is typically about 6 or 7 weeks. I've heard a lot about the importance of doing other sports and how track can be a good sport for basketball players in many ways. I would just like to hear your thoughts on this if you don't mind. Thank you


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PostPosted: 04 Feb 2020, 12:12 
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Sprinting is a very effective way to build leg muscle and speed. So yes that can certainly translate to the basketball court. Long distance running, not sure that really helps most kids... there are exceptions but in your daughters case I'd say sprints and a good strength training program would be much more beneficial for basketball than long distance running.

Soccer is great for agility, speed, and conditioning.

Martial arts, swimming, gymnastics are all beneficial too.... especially for younger players.. developing various aspects of coordination, balance and strength.

With that said, there is risk for injury when playing sports like soccer. But that is true in almost anything and if playing another sport is something she'd enjoy, I would encourage it.

I would also be careful about over-training... AAU, bball training, soccer, and lifting in the spring can be a little much.. so it's just something to monitor.

Good luck.

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PostPosted: 04 Feb 2020, 13:23 

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Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if I made my question clear. She has only ever played basketball her whole life. This spring she was considering not playing AAU basketball and doing track instead. My question is which do you think would be a better idea track or AAU basketball? Would she potentially miss out on improving her basketball skills or could it be good to do something different like track?


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PostPosted: 04 Feb 2020, 14:20 
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Sorry. You were clear... I just read too fast. :)

It's really hard to say what would be better. Track should help with speed and be a change of pace to avoid burn out of playing just one sport. AUU should help with skills and decision making. But every AAU club is different... some spend no time on skill and only tactics. Some practice once every two weeks. Some practice twice a week.

In a perfect world, only from a basketball development standpoint, she has a strategic dose of:
- strength, speed, and agility work (ex: https://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/pr/athletic-development-program.html)
- skill development (ex: working with a skill trainer, getting on the gym on own, skill camps, etc)
- competitive games to work on translating those skills into games, improving decision making, and learning the game

However, high school should be about having fun and there are the mental aspects too. Avoiding burn her out should be considered... and there are mental benefits to playing in more than one sport.

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. Personally, I encourage my kids to try multiple things and let them decide what to do. I always tell them to follow their passion. Try a bunch of different things and then do what you really enjoy.

Good luck!

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PostPosted: 04 Feb 2020, 15:41 

Posts: 26
Got it thanks! I appreciate your thoughtful reply


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