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Recreational basketball is great for beginners, but not so much for advanced players looking to play with kids at their skill level. Often, if advanced players play in recreational leagues, they end-up looking like Michael Jordan on the court compared to their peers; it can feel great, but not much learning or personal challenge happening.
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Recreational basketball also has an immensely wide range of skillsets; some kids are doing advanced dribbling combinations and plays while others are just learning to dribble and catch a pass. This can be incredibly frustrating for both the advanced and beginner players and respective
parents.
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CYO basketball, in general, is usually a step up from recreational basketball but still mostly catering to less advanced players, many who have never played real competitive basketball and many of whom are still learning basic rules. There are even some recreational teams I've coached that could have beat every CYO team in the league.
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AAU basketball is the most competitive level of basketball, but that's not to say just because a kid plays AAU, he or she is an advanced player. Many AAU programs are pure junk and money machines with a revolving door of kids coming in and out every year. I've seen kids on AAU teams who could easily get beat by some of the CYO or recreational teams I've coached. This is truly sad considering parents are shelling out thousands of dollars for these programs.
There are many, many problems with AAU basketball clubs in general including lack of communication, inconsistency in communication and actions, revolving door of kids due to poor management and other issues, lack of attention to player development, favoritism of certain players due to factors other than skills/talent, poor coaching, and focus on maximizing profits to name a few. Several entire blog articles can be written on this and many already exist. I will have additional follow-up posts on this in future.
