Good Monday Afternoon Select Nation Family, Remember, these NEWS emails should be shared with your parents and players.
There is always interesting activity within the Select Nation. Things are happening and we make things happen. Let's just talk about last weekend. I was out and about.
Friday night I visited Coach Ferrell at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Tucker as he held TRYOUTS for his Mighty 16U RED Elite team.
What a great looking group of young men that were giving it their all to make the team. He has a tough decision to make from a selection of extremely talented athletes. I spoke to the group and advised them that the 16U age group is very important because this is the age that many scouts start making decisions and athletes at this age must be seen. Coach Ferrell has planned an extensive Exposure schedule to give members of his team this opportunity.
He held a second TRYOUT on Sunday and I think he has made his decision. He states no more TRYOUTS are planned.
On Saturday Morning I represented the Select Nation at the GA AAU Winter Meeting in Smyrna, GA. Feedback indicates that we are complying with the rules and ready for the 2015 season. Highlights of the meeting were: 2015 Boys AAU District/State Championship calendar, the new AAU Eligibility requirements and the new reporting procedures for incidents/accidents and the associated insurance coverage.
It is important that accident claims be reported on a timely basis, not months after the incident/accident occurred. A reminder that all coaches and players must have AAU insurance for the the coverage to be enforced. Please comply with these rules. Like I say, Just business.
On Saturday afternoon Coach Shepherd contact me and said "that the Mighty 8U Select Punishers are ready to start the season".
The team has been playing in a winter league and has won the Fulton County championship.
Now they are preparing for the State Playoffs in Gwinnett County on March 6. After that they will be on the AAU circuit. We will add they championship trophy to the Trophy Count, because they are Select!!!
The Trophy Count now is: 14. Only 86 more to go for our Select Nation 2015 goal of 100.
Coach Baskerville - 9U SILVER = 3
Coach Johnson - 14U COLLEGE Bound = 3
Coach Jackson - 8U SOUTH SIDE = 3
Coach Lawson - 12U RED = 2
Coaches Keown & Elston - 11U BLACK 2022 = 2
Coach Shepherd - 8U PUNISHERS = 1
On Sunday I made my rounds. First I stopped by the Highland Athletic Club in downtown Atlanta to observe Coach Glenn holding TRYOUTS for his Mighty 17U Select PRO team.
What a crowd. He had Athletic Trainer, Bo Bell, assisting in the evaluation as he took pictures and videos of the action. He is confident that he can field a dynamic team.
I then drove to Snellville to see Coach Burton conduct his first official practice for his Mighty 15U RED team. Some big boys, I mean young men. You know Coach Burton, he is all smiles.
I also spoke to the players and told my story about "When Spiders Work Together They Can Tie Up A Lion". I am sure you know the story. Please use it as a Life Skills topic. Then Coach Sanders conducted a Life Skills session in which he talk about the P.I.E., the Life Skills topic for the first meeting in March. Check your handbook and/or a recent LOI.
Then on to Price Middle School where 4 Tryouts were being held. Coach "AC" Christopher said his roster (The Mighty 15U SILVER) was complete and he was ready to finalize his uniforms orders and get started.
You know, Coach AC is a football specialist and I am sure he is preparing a bruising team. By the way I also spoke to Coach AC 's team and told my same Spider story.
He was followed by Coach Baskerville who was testing/trying out his Mighty 9U SILVER team. He has already earned 3 trophies for the season, leading the pack, and I am sure he is planning to lead it all season. His boys are jumping for joy.
Finally, Coach Hill held his third tryout, planning to field two teams of the Mighty 16U SILVER. He reminds me of old times in which we were coaching together. We did not want to cut anyone and normally selected 3 teams. However, we had plenty of extra coaches. And that why we form the Atlanta Select, from those 3 teams. We felt that we needed to try to save as many souls as possible and give our young men the opportunity to play whether they were D I, DII, DIII or other material. They had a right to play and be seen. Just a little history.
Coach JayBee Brown had his prospects for his 17U PRIME team join in with Coach Hill's prospects as they held a rough and ready scrimmage. I left before it was all over. Had to. I left home at 10 AM Sunday morning and I was ready to take a break after 9 hours. But I had a great weekend visiting our teams and feeling confident that we have a collection of great head coaches. Doing the Do. They are about business. They take charge. They are getting ready to represent. They make me proud to be a member of the Select Nation.
Over the weekend, Coaches Keown (Mighty 11U BLACK 2023), Coach Gray (Mighty 11U BLACK 2023) and Coach Hall (Mighty 14U PRIME) obtained their 2015 AAU membership. Congrats.
Coach Hines (Mighty14U Red0, Coach Spivey (Mighty 13U GRAND) and Coach Wallace (Mighty 14U & 16U VISION) plan to have tryouts this week. An announcement will be posted soon.
Several folks have contacted me expressing an interest in joining the Select Nation as coaches. I am waiting for their decision and will meet with them, if need be based on their decision, and then launched them as additional members of the Select Nation CADRE. What can I Say?
SYNERGY. Just Go Select!!!
Coach Z.
P.S. As I was leaving I met with Coach Keown (The Mighty 11U BLACK 2022). He was there as a parent as his older son was trying out for a team. He mentioned that he was extremely please that I had just informed the CADRE to have First Aid kits and CPR qualified personnel available at all times.
He had an incident with a player at his last practice that caused concerned. He testified that he saw the need to be prepared for first aid. All is well with player and the player has returned to action. But some scary moments. Lesson Learned Folks. Be Prepared. We are not just another youth basketball organization. We are Select!!!
JUST GO SELECT!!!
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