Girls’ Basketball…this is a topic that has been a big part of my life for the last 20 years. While most people know me as a football coach from CB West and North Penn and now WNPV broadcaster and SOS.com blogger, girls’ basketball has taken up much of my life in the last two decades.
I was fortunate to have been blessed with four daughters (Ashley, Brooke, Devon, Jesse), who all gravitated to the great sport of basketball. In the early 90’s, I started coaching my oldest girls, Ashley and Brooke in youth basketball, and from there it just expanded into travel, AAU and even high school coaching of my girls.
When I wasn’t with the CB West or North Penn football teams, I was working my daughters in basketball drills, strength training or coaching one of their basketball teams. I’ve watched girls’ basketball develop from the 90’s to the amazing state it is in today. Today, girls’ basketball is the FASTEST GROWING sport in America according to the NCAA. More young girls are choosing this sport, and the development of these girls is simply incredible!
I’ve watched my older girls (Ash and Brooke) go on to play D-1 basketball at Winthrop University of the Big South conference and Columbia University in the Ivy league. Presently, my third daughter, Devon is a junior at Loyola University in the MAAC conference and fourth daughter Jesse is a senior at Germantown Academy and has committed to Villanova University of the Big East.
The level of play from when Ashley and Brooke played in high school to the present day players is a huge jump. The girls today are bigger, run faster and have much better skills. Keep in mind that Ashley and Brooke left high school in 2002 and ‘03 (not that long ago!). Players today are very athletic and mimic the moves of the boys’ game.
Not a believer yet???
Just go to one of the big girls’ games…O’Hara vs. Wood or GA vs. Carroll. How about CR North vs. CR South, CB East vs. CB South, Villa vs. Mt St Joe’s. The gyms will be packed with fans that are crazy into the game.
Blue Chip basketball hosts a one day tourney each year in January at Archbishop Carroll that pits the top programs against each other. You can’t find a seat in the gym!!
Three weeks ago I went to the district finals of AAA at Villanova to see Mount St Joe’s play Carroll and we had to sit in the second level to watch a great game. There had to be three to four thousand fans. It’s cool to see the enthusiasm for the girls’ game.
I must admit that many of my friends used to shake their heads when I talked about girls’ basketball, but it’s amazing how quickly they convert when their daughters start playing the game. Add to this mix that I’ve seen well over 1,000 girls’ games in the last two decades, and I’m convinced that the Philly region is one of the nation’s hot spots for the girl’s game.
Backing that assumption up is the final 2009 ESPN high school National Rankings for girls’ basketball that has Class AAA State Champ Archbishop Carroll (31-1) at #5 and Class AAAA State Runner-Up O’Hara (28-2) at #10 and Germantown Academy (32-0) at #22 in the country and #1 in State by Max Preps.
There are many reasons the game is exploding.
1) Since Title 9 is being enforced, all Division 1 teams are offering full scholarships for girls’ basketball unless the school is need-based (Ivy League, etc). Think about that!! All those men’s programs also have woman’s teams that are offering 13-15 full rides. That’s a lot of scholarships available. Also, girls’ basketball is really the only girls’ sport in high school that offers FULL RIDES. You may get an occasional full ride for soccer and field hockey, but most are partials for softball, field hockey, soccer, lax etc. Getting any type of scholarship is awesome but many families living in the inner cities push their daughters to the sport of basketball because of this.
2) Great young coaching! We have many people in the Delaware Valley that have been instrumental in the young ladies lives as far as basketball development. Steve Flynn (Renegades AAU), Art Bass (Central Bucks Skills and Drills), Jay Jameson (Lansdale personal trainer), Chris Clark (college, high school and AAU coach), Steve Chapman (Fencor AAU), Norm O’Rourke (Wildcat & Renegade AAU and high school coach), Tom Ward (Central Bucks Skills and Drills, high school coach) just to name a few that have made big impacts in the skill development of young girls.
3) As for coaches, the Philly area has some of the top high school and AAU coaches in the country! Start with Cheltenham’s Bob Schaefer (over 600 wins), Linus McGinty from O’Hara (over 500 wins), Sherri Retif – Germantown Academy (approaching 500 wins), Lou Palkovics – CR North, John Miller – Mt. St Joes, Tom Lonergan – CB East, Bob Schnure – Downingtown East for high school, and then in AAU, there’s Kevin Lynch – Philadelphia Belles, Joe Westerfer, Brian Creech – Philadelphia Belles, Bill McDonough – Lady Running Rebels, Chris & Linda Genther and Fran Burbidge – Del Val Comets, Heather and Eric Glemser - Fencor. These high school and AAU coaches have driven the sport to the next level.
Most of the top high school teams in the Philly area and all the top AAU teams play across the country and challenge the best teams out there. Then the Philly teams WIN! O’Hara won the Prestigious Nike Christmas tourney this year. GA won the Naples Christmas tourney over Downingtown East (Two Philly schools get in finals from 16 top teams from across the country), and Carroll went into New York City and beat Christ the King (one of the all-time top teams). In AAU, the Philadelphia Belles, Del Val Comets and Fencor have close to 10 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS between the three organizations.
So what steps do you take if you’re a parent of young girls who wants to be basketball players today?
First, get a ball in their hand at an early age. All the really good players I’ve seen have parents who helped the girls at early ages. Start them with ball handling drills first!!! I started all my kids dribbling in the basement at 6-8 years old. There is a major lack of ball handlers today. Most parents start teaching shooting first…that will come later as the young lady gets stronger and bigger. Have your daughters play point guard on their young teams (this will force them to handle the ball). As the point guard, you can always move to other positions as you get older, and the ball handling experience will give you an edge at the wing or post positions.
Second, get them playing with a CYO or local association team until they are 10-11. Then, when they are around 12 years old, look at the area AAU programs which are a must for development and exposure as they get older. AAU will provide better coaching and much more competition than CYO or local association teams. I always felt that I wanted my girls to be challenged and not be the best girl on their team (many times this is the case with an association team). AAU afforded that and I moved my kids many times to different AAU teams to find the best fit and coaching to improve their development.
Don’t listen to people who say you don’t need AAU to be successful. That’s baloney!! Ninety-five percent of all the scholarship players were discovered in AAU. College coaches would much rather go to an AAU tournament and see 20 good players competing against each other than go to a high school game where there is one or two good players. This area has great starter AAU programs like the Bucks County Renegades, Fort Washington’s Fencor, Bucks County Wildcats, etc.
As your child grows in skills and age, she may be asked to play for an Elite AAU team such as the Philadelphia Belles, Del Val Comets or Lady Running Rebels. It is not unusual to have 10 future Division One players on the roster of these Elite AAU teams. This type of competition on the team does nothing but make your daughter much better….and that’s the idea – right!
My youngest daughter Jesse (now a senior at GA) played for the Philly Belles for the last three years (started at 15 years old), and every girl on that team received FULL SCHOLARSHIPS (UConn, Virginia, Vandy, Maryland, Villanova, Xavier, St Joe’s etc). It was a lot of work for Jesse and us as parents in terms of constant travel…but in the end, it was worth it (full scholarship worth 250 k).
In closing, there are so many opportunities for young women today. Basketball is just one of them, but a sport that is growing leaps and bounds. If you and your daughter have a dream, work hard and smart and if she keeps developing, she will have colleges knocking on her door. If I can be of assistance and answer any further questions on developing as a player or AAU, just e-mail Coach Carey, suburbanonesports@comcast.net.
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